Turnout, Status, and Identity: Mobilizing Latinos to Vote with Group Appeals

Abstract

The rise of micro-targeting in American elections raises new questions about the effects of identity-based mobilization strategies. In this article, we bring together theories of expressive voting with literature on racial and ethnic identification to argue that prior studies, which have found either weak or null effects of identity messages targeting minority groups, have missed a crucial moderating variable—identity strength—that varies across both individuals and communities. Identity appeals can have powerful effects on turnout, but only when they target politicized identities to which individuals hold strong prior attachments. Using two innovative GOTV field experiments that rely on publicly available data as a proxy for identity strength, we show that the effects of both ethnic and national identity appeals among Latinos in California and Texas are conditional on the strength of those identities in different communities and among different Latino subgroups.

Racial Minorities’ Trust in Government and Government Decisionmakers

“…These findings add perspective to empirical research demonstrating that ethnically imbued campaign messages and candidacies that target Hispanics or African Americans increase the likelihood they will turn out to vote (Barreto, ; Leighley, ; Valenzuela and Michelson, ). The purpose of these messages is to increase turnout among the targeted minority by highlighting the importance of minority representation in the political process.…”

“…Moreover, perceptions of racial bias by government officials shape evaluations of contemporary political figures. These findings comport well with research that emphasizes the effectiveness of campaign messages that highlight the importance of descriptive representation for racial minorities for preference formation and electoral turnout, as well as theories of intergroup relations (Valenzuela and Michelson, ).…”

“…With varying degrees of subtlety, political parties, candidates, and interest groups raise the importance of race for representation (Baretto, ; Leighley, ; Valenzuela and Michelson, ). Concerns about the importance of race for representation for citizens may be triggered simply by the race of the candidate, or by the campaign messages disseminated by parties, candidates, or interest groups that make explicit reference to race as an important component of representation.…”

Tuning In, Not Turning Out: Evaluating the Impact of Ethnic Television on Political Participation

“…Numerous studies evaluate the effect of Spanish‐language campaign advertisements and get out the vote (GOTV) messages on turnout and vote choice. This literature employs experimental (Abrajano and Panagopoulos ; Bedolla and Michelson ; Panagopoulos and Green ; Valenzuela and Michelson ) and observational methods (Barreto, Merolla, and Soto ) and largely finds that exposure to ads in Spanish increases turnout. This research, however, addresses a treatment that is substantially different from that of interest to our research question; indeed, this work concerns the effect of short‐term media messages on turnout, with potential mechanisms being “ethnic identity activation,” perceptions of electoral pivotality (Subervi‐Velez ), and overcoming linguistic barriers to participation (Uhlaner, Cain, and Kiewiet ).…”

When Does Sexuality-Based Discrimination Motivate Political Participation?

“…A growing body of scholarly research suggests that discrimination by political institutions motivates political participation (Barreto & Woods, ; Dawson, ; Miller, Gurin, Gurin, & Malanchuk, ; Pantoja, Ramirez, & Segura, ; Ramakrishnan, ; Ramirez, ; Stokes, ; Tate, ; Valenzuela & Michelson, ; Verba & Nie, ). However, data based on reports of discrimination are problematic, potentially reflecting accepting contexts where marginalized people can support each other (Kaiser & Miller, ; Myrberg & Rogstad, ; Stangor, Swim, Van Allen, & Sechrist, ).…”