Messaging Matters: How Information about Underrepresentation Affects the Political Participation of Racial and Ethnic Groups in California

Abstract

Can racial and ethnic minorities be mobilized to participate in politics at greater rates? We theorize that mobilization messages providing information about a group's underrepresentation in government may increase participation among racial/ethnic minorities. However, responsiveness to such messages should vary depending on individuals' prior awareness of their group's underrepresentation. Using a two-wave panel survey that randomly assigned different get out the vote messages, we find that messages highlighting a racial/ethnic group's underrepresentation in government do not increase Latinos', Blacks', or Asians' likelihood of voting. We also find that such messages can decrease other forms of political participation among Asians and Latinos who were previously unaware of their group's underrepresentation. These findings indicate that information about underrepresentation can actually demobilize certain segments of the electorate. Thus, practical efforts to boost participation among underrepresented groups should either communicate information about underrepresentation in other ways or provide a different type of message altogether.

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“…Finally, Yamamoto et al ( 2015 ) demonstrate the role of social media and mobile platforms on political participation, finding young individuals who consume political information through social media platforms are more likely to engage in political participation—as such, messaging is exceptionally crucial to the mobilization of the underrepresented. Boudreau et al ( 2020 ) argue that ineffective messaging can demobilize specific segments of the target population, and to improve participation, the messenger must strike the proper tone. Vinogradova et al ( 2020 ) argue that some aspects of these communicative elements facilitate rapid and tactical deployment of messaging to generate political mobilization when done correctly.…”