Local canvassing: The efficacy of grassroots voter mobilization

This article offers empirical evidence supporting a relationship between social influence and voter turnout by comparing the effectiveness of face-to-face get-out-the-vote visits by canvassers living in a voter’s local neighborhood against visits by canvassers from other neighborhoods. We analyze data from a randomized campaign conducted by a local community outreach group during the 2006 general election. We utilize natural variations in the assignment of canvassers to determine that the effect of being contacted by the campaign is higher in precincts where some canvassers were working in their own neighborhood.