Mobilizing the Latino Youth Vote

This paper describes the results of a field experiment aimed at increasing turnout among young Latinos in Fresno, CA conducted in the fall of 2002. Canvassers went door-to-door during the final two weekends before Election Day to urge registered young people to go to the polls. Young people of all races/ethnicities were targeted. In addition to testing the effectiveness of personal contact and how this varies among registered voters of various races/ethnicities, the project also included two imbedded experiments. First, the race/ethnicity of the canvassers was randomly assigned, to test whether Latinos and non-Latinos are equally effective at getting Latinos and non-Latinos to the polls. Second, the message delivered to contacted registered voters was randomly assigned, to test whether young Latinos are more receptive to a message which stresses group identification and solidarity, or one that emphasizes civic duty. The experiment demonstrates that not only are Latino canvassers better at contacting young Latino voters, they are also more effective at getting Latinos to the polls. This emphasizes the importance of using Latino activists to get out the Latino vote.