By Laura Lynch
Most of us want to honor our word. If we make a promise, we want to keep it. If we are reminded of our commitment – given a little nudge in the right direction – we’re even more likely to keep our promise. This holds true from simple, everyday things like telling your spouse you’ll clean up the house to larger commitments like honoring a financial pledge to a cause.
This concept also applies to voting and could help your credit union increase participation in its elections. Ask members to exercise their member-owner rights, have them commit to do so and then remind them.
In the recent CUES webinar, “It’s Time to Commit ... to Your Voting Success,” Melissa Michelson, Ph.D., author and professor of political science at Menlo College, joined Mike Tuteur, CEO of Votenet Solutions, Inc., to discuss the psychology behind keeping promises and how it influences voting behavior. Votenet is CUES' strategic provider for CUES eVote: Elect and Educate.
“People are more likely to do something if they make a promise. But the big secret is what you do beyond that commitment. What do you do to make it more statistically likely that they follow through and vote?” said Tuteur.
In a controlled study of voters for the United States Student Association, voters were contacted before an election and asked, “Can I count on you to vote?” Some of the voters were called again with a reminder. The ones who committed to vote turned out at a rate 5 percent higher than the control group who weren’t called. Voters who also received a reminder turned out at a rate 10 percent higher.
Tuteur suggested these tactics to gain voter commitment and capitalize on it:
- Ask for a hard commitment. This could be done by phone, email, postcards or even through Votenet’s own balloting system.
- Follow up with a commitment reminder. Michelson points out that nothing beats the power of another person asking you to keep your commitment. Phone call follow-ups, emails or postcards can also work as reminders.
- Be creative. Organizations can use commitment lists to show members who have committed to vote or even ask members to use social media to broadcast their intent to vote.
Tuteur said Votenet has used both the physiological element of keeping promises and research on voting trends to integrate commitment campaigns into the Votenet balloting system. Members are asked to either agree to vote in an upcoming election or decline. If they decline, they’re asked to provide a reason, which helps explain why members aren’t voting and provides insight for future campaigns.
Laura Lynch is CUES' products and services coordinator.
CUES has partnered with Votentet to provide elections for credit union board of director elections, merger votes and charger change votes. Find out more about CUES eVote: Elect and Educate.
