EDUCATION FOR ACTION:

AN EXPERIMENT ABOUT
INCREASING
VOTER PARTICIPATION

does a better job capturing some of the context in

which most people engage in or ignore politics but
also is limited.

Political Behavior Each of these perspectives

has something to do with political behavior.
by Prof. Harry Targ, PhD
Yes, some citizens are ill-informed. Others are
Department of Political Science
informed but cynical. Often voters have interests
Purdue University
in some elections but not others. Still more true
Recently I visited with a progressive friend in
is the argument that Americans are barraged with
Wisconsin. I asked him if Russ Feingold has a
24/7 newscasts that ignore important stories, lie
chance of being reelected to the Senate in the 2016
about them, or communicate information about
election. He said that most Wisconsin voters do
violence, sexuality, and celebrities instead of
not know that Feingold is not one of their senators.
information, primarily to get viewers or readers to
This lack of awareness of who is or is not one of the
buy products not inform.
states senators may have several explanations.
5. Education For Action Model A fifth
1. The Ignorant Voter Model A long-held
model, the education for action model, takes
view of academic experts is that the information,
account of the four explanations above but has
awareness, and interest of most voters in politics
embedded within it the proposition that political
are limited. This might be called the ignorant
actors can have some role to play in informing
voter model. There may be some truth to this
the public, convincing them that their cynicism
claim but it is a mistake to blame the voter without
is dangerous to their futures, and providing an
considering the context in which politics works
understanding of what can be done politically to
2. The Cynical Voter Model Another better serve their interests.
explanation for the limited knowledge and
An Example of Education For Action One
participation of citizens in politics emphasizes
example of the education for action model was
the fact that for many citizens the electoral arena
developed by Dan Isaacson, publisher and editor of
is seen as of limited consequence to peoples
The Democratic Voter and The Enlightened Voter,
lives. Politicians run public relations campaigns.
monthly newsletters distributed to prospective
They lie. They make all sorts of promises. Both
voters in Precinct 4178, Palm Beach County,
parties really stand for the same things. And, in
Florida (www.VoterEducation.net).
the end, this view suggests, nothing ever changes.
This interpretation represents the cynical voter Voter Education Project Isaacson launched
a voter education/participation project in 2014
model.
to see if providing regular information about the
3. The Selective Voter Model A third
electoral process, important issues, and candidate
model explains significant differences in voter
positions could increase voter participation in the
participation to the differences in periodic
precinct in which he worked as a Democratic Party
elections. More voters turnout for presidential
organizer.
elections than off-year elections. Voters are least
likely to go to the polls for primary elections, The Director of Project 4178 knew that face-tomunicipal and county elections, or elections for face conversations with prospective voters were an
school boards. This explanation constitutes a ideal way to communicate information and to try to
convince people to vote. But, in an average precinct
selective voting model.
(Isaacsons consisted of 714 registered Democrats,
4. The Media Manipulation Model A fourth
533 independents, and 636 Republicans), the
perspective emphasizes the lack of information,
possibilities of having meaningful dialogue about
misinformation, and lies communicated by a
the political process seemed low. And television
media that is top-down, controlled by a handful of
ads, robo calls, flyers, and other fleeting visual or
global corporations, and motivated by commercial
oral forms of communication were usually ignored.
success not providing useful information. This
explanation, the media manipulation model
Targ - Education for Action Blog

Monthly Newsletter In 2014, voters

registered as Democrats or Independents, in
Precinct 4178 received a monthly newsletter. Two
additional newsletters were sent just before each
of three elections. Registered Democrats received
The Democratic Voter and Independents received
The Enlightened Voter. These monthly newsletters
presented in clear, concise copy, information
about the election, candidates, and why voting was
important. When email addresses were available
the newsletters were sent electronically; when not
they were sent by mail.

Results of Study Along with building a

data-base of voters in the Precinct, reaching
out to independent voters, publishing a useful
newsletter, Isaacson suggested that the experiment
demonstrated that the Voter Publications
education tools increases unengaged-voter
turnout by between 20% and 70% over the usual
methods currently used (tv, radio, phone calls and
door knocking nagging).
The Isaacson experiment raises several ideas of
relevance to progressives:

Realistic Assumption First, Project 4178

begins with a realistic assumption about the
prospects of communicating with masses of voters
large print,
in an effective way. Given available resources,
frequent paragraphs,
intensive interactions with large numbers of
short sentences,
voters and other potential activists is limited.
easy reading level,
Matching multi-million dollar campaigns based
eye-catching, bold typeface lead-in phrases on advertising, robo calls, and influencing media
to most paragraphs.
content is virtually impossible. In fact, the millions
The June, 2015 issue of The Enlightened Voter spent on elections and issue campaigns do not
appear to affect active voter participation, but
included articles from various sources:
rather induce non-participation which is probably
on the low production of the Florida what most political organizations prefer anyway.
legislature,
on what would happen if women controlled Mobilizes Masses of People Second,
given limited resources and the forces arrayed
the global economy,
against encouraging intelligent voting and other
on for profit college math,
on a museum devoted to the reexamination participation, only systematic, clear dissemination
of information about the political process can yield
of slavery,
a more informed citizenry and engaged politically
on the performance of Governor Scott,
and on data on voter participation of readers active public. This may be relevant to those who
are primarily engaged in revitalizing the electoral
of the newsletter.
process but might also be relevant for those who
It had an attractive eight-page layout and six wish to mobilize masses of people to fight racism,
talking points from the articles that appeared in sexism, the military-industrial complex, and the
the issue.
effort to destroy the labor movement.
Voter Turnout Comparison Comparing Political Education Matters If the Project
voter average turnouts in Palm Beach County 4178 findings can be generalized from one locale to
precincts with those in Precinct 4178, for a number a nation, the main point would be that an effective,
of elections: municipal, judicial, and statewide, mass campaign of political education matters.
the difference in participation rates were stark. Providing information in communities, states, and
For example, turnout for municipal elections in the nation matter. Communicating information
March, 2014 was a third higher in Precinct 4178. increases a sense of political possibility, provides
Precinct 4178 turnout for an August, 2014 primary guidance as to the direction the country is headed,
election was 71 percent higher than the average of and what can be done to bring about change.
other precincts. And for the gubernatorial race in
November, 2014, Precinct 4178 had a 19 per cent
higher turnout rate than the average of the rest of
Palm Beach County.
Newsletter Format The newsletters were
guided by the need for: