US Youth Use Text Messages in Get-out-the-Vote Campaign
From Shareideas
With the help of text messaging, Mobilize.org spurred hundreds of youth to register and vote during the 2006 mid-term elections in the United States.
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The day before the 2006 mid-term elections in the United States, Mobilize.org, a youth-led nonpartisan network, sent over a thousand text messages to young people in California and other states urging them go to the polls. The message included details on where they could go for information on polling places and important issues on their ballot. In the months leading up to the election, similar messages encouraged young people to register to vote.
While 1,000 text messages may not seem like a lot, when combined with other youth-led get-out-the-vote efforts, young people exerted a potent influence on the outcomes of the election. Nearly a quarter of Americans under the age of 30, or at least 10 million young voters, cast ballots in the election – up four percentage points from the last mid-term elections in 2002. Through the use of text messaging, mobile technologies, instant messaging, and social networking software, the youth vote made a huge impact in over 15 Congressional races and 3 Senatorial races.
To maximize its efforts, Mobilize.org partnered with Mobile Voter (www.mobilevoter.com), a non-profit, non-partisan organization that facilitates the process of civic participation via mobile technology.
How it was done
In developing its text messaging capability, Mobilize.org was careful to collect cell phone numbers on sign up sheets at hundreds of events it held on high school and college campuses over the past few years. Additionally, visitors to its website are asked to submit their mobile phone numbers when they register.
To carry out its SMS campaign, Mobilize.org staff went to www.txtvoter.org, an initiative of Mobile Voter. Through the site, they accessed a keyword (“Voter”) and number (75444). They then sent a text message to individuals on their mailing list, asking if they wanted to register to vote. Those individuals were instructed to send an SMS message containing the keyword to the number (75444). They then got a message requesting their full name/address, or email address, so that they could receive a voter registration form by mail or email. They also received a text message on election day reminding them to vote.
