This is often the most effective way to turn out voters, if the right postcard and message are used, says our founder, Bryan Burke, Ph.D. “I have spent thousands of hours researching and registering voters, doorbelling, and phone banking. Handwritten cards are often better. They strike a balance between their large effect on turnout and their ability to be scaled up in volume.”
However, not all handwritten cards are equally effective at turning out voters. First, to be effective, a postcard must cut through the clutter of junk mail in the mailbox so it even gets read. We use handwritten messages (as do other groups) and a few other tricks that we developed to do that.
Second, to be effective, they need to use a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) message. These are messages that focuses on the act of voting. The most effective GOTV message is a social pressure message, which is similar to “peer” pressure to do something positive. Ballot planning is also a type of GOTV, but it is not as effective as social pressure (please inquire about a citation for that claim).
There is both positive and negative peer pressure. We prefer to use positive peer pressure, which involves talking about the recipients voting record in a positive tone, rather than a negative one. For example, we thank them for the last time they voted instead of scolding them for when they did not.
Third, the handwritten text must be legible, short (20 to 40 words), and to the point. It should not diverge into political issues or candidates. Discussions of issues and/or candidates tend to clutter the GOTV message and distract the reader from the social pressure component of it (that they need to vote). A social pressure message works by leaving a voter with an emotional feeling in their gut that “I need to vote if I am to be a good citizen.” If the message is cluttered with mentions of political issues or candidates, voters are more likely to instead be left thinking about the issues and candidates. That does not seem to increase voter turnout.
Generally speaking, mailings that focus mostly or entirely on political issues or candidates have little or no effect on voter turnout. Of course, there is often a place for such mailings in a campaign (such as to educate base voters about a candidate and their positions on issues), but doing that should not be confused with GOTV.