VoteAmerica 2020 mover registration program

VoteAmerica mailed 100,000 voter registration forms to recent movers in 2020. Here's what we learned.

Existing mail-based voter registration programs for people who move are reliant on the National Change of Address (NCOA) database or commercial change of address databases to which individuals self-report their change in address at or after moving. In 2020, VoteAmerica formed a unique partnership with an organization that helps individuals with the moving process; this partnership provided VoteAmerica with data at least 30 days before it is provided to the NCOA database, but with nearly identical coverage of the population. This early availability of data on movers enabled VoteAmerica to send timely blank a total of 97,269 blank voter registration forms to recent interstate movers in XX states.

This project was broken down into two phases: first, a pilot program of 28,667 forms to interstate movers in 19 states during September 2020. We ran this pilot as a randomized control trial (RCT) to determine the efficacy. Without waiting for results – since prior research conducted by Voter Participation Center has already demonstrated the efficacy of mail-based voter registration programs to recent movers - we expanded the program. VoteAmerica ultimately sent blank voter registration forms to 97,269 recent interstate movers.

Key takeaways from the RCT

• The apparent successful registration effect among all targeted movers was 0.70pp.
• The results suggest that the program helped increase registration rates among movers who were registering for the first-time. The suggested first-time registration effect was0.54pp.
• The apparent turnout effect among all targeted movers was 0.60pp.
• Results for overall targeted movers, matched individuals, successful registrations, and first-time registrations suggest a positive increase in voting rates, particularly for individuals who successfully registered. The suggested turnout effect among successful registrants was 0.34pp.
• Furthermore, the results suggest promise for the program’s efficacy with respect to groups within the New American Majority, particularly Latinos, African-Americans, individuals ages 18 to 24, and unmarried women.

Program impact

Using the results from the RCT, we were able to extrapolating the impact of the overall program. As noted, VoteAmerica mailed blank voter registration forms to 97,269 recent interstate movers. This produced a total of 681 net new registrations, and 584 net new votes resulted from this program.