A few simple behavior modifications could increase voter turnout in this year’s midterm elections. In a Salt Lake Tribune op-ed over the weekend, Isaac Holyoak, Better UTAH communications director, discussed political science research that showed making a voting plan can substantially increase turnout.
One research study…showed that merely asking someone whether or not they intended to vote the day before the election had an impact of increasing voter turnout by 25 percent.
Such an increase could be substantial for Utah.
A 25 percent increase in voter turnout in Utah, based on data from the 2010 midterm elections, the last comparable election, would equate to some 150,000 additional ballots. (In 2010, voting hovered in the low 30th percentile, with around 600,000 Utahns exercising their right to vote.) If only this op-ed could produce that kind of change in Utah’s electoral trends.
The full op-ed can be found here.
