Nudging Turnout: Mere Measurement and Implementation Planning of Intentions to Vote

Abstract:     
Randomized experiments, conducted during the 2006 US midterm election and the 2005 German federal election, examined the impact on voter turnout of two simple treatments. The effects of a mere measurement treatment (asking people if they intend to vote) and an implementation intentions treatment (asking people how they intend to vote), were estimated for both one-shot goals (e.g., voting on Election Day) and open-ended goals (e.g., voting early) with deadlines in either days or months in the future. Mere measurement increased voter turnout for open-ended goals and for proximal one-shot goals but not for distant one-shot goals. Implementation intentions increased voter turnout for both open-ended and one-shot goals in the near and long term.

Keywords: mere measurement, implementation intentions, voting, turnout, elections, surveys

JEL Classifications: C11, C93, D72

Working Paper Series