By Michael Tuteur
Americans pride themselves on their right to vote in democratic elections. It is surprising, then, how incredibly low voter turnout rates are in elections of all sizes and scope. Our annual research shows voter turnout is the biggest election challenge organizations face, followed by recruiting candidates for board positions. Credit unions are no exception.
When we look at patterns for cooperative leadership elections (which includes credit unions, food coops, electric coops, housing coops, mutual insurance companies, etc.), voter turnout ranges between 2-14% (see chart).
There are two compelling reasons for credit unions to make an effort to improve their turnout rates. 1) Conventional wisdom says greater levels of participation yield smarter, better decisions. 2) Greater participation creates a mandate for the elected officials. Constituents are more likely to trust in their leaders when they know the victory was predicated on a broad base of support.
Taking cues from what works in politics and the study of behavioral science, strategies are emerging to boost voter response rates. These include:
Apply social pressure. If other members are doing it, making their actions public can induce others. An email reminder that says something like “58 fellow members cast their ballots today” has shown to stimulate additional votes. This is especially true in credit unions, where members may know one another or at least are connected by a common bond.
Setting a turnout goal. Consider what would happen if you prominently displayed a set goal for voter turnout. You could have a website banner and tally boards in the branches that are constantly updated to show progress toward the goal. This would also be an excellent way to leverage social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to interact with your membership.
Negotiating commitments. Behavioral science is showing that getting people to commit to vote ahead of time can work. When people make a promise, they tend to keep it. The Obama campaign applied this strategy with excellent results. They asked supporters to make a commitment to vote, and then followed up with phone calls to make sure the ballots were cast.
Developing targeted strategies. A common mistake organizations make is communicating to everyone in the same way. Instead, developing separate strategies for different market segments can be effective. If you have a certain group of members who always vote, their message should be different than those targeted to members who have never voted. Use software to discover who has voted and then tailor communications based on their preference for email, text, etc.
The downstream effects of increased voter turnout rates can make a powerful impact on the credit union over time. People who vote tend to feel more loyal and connected to the organization, and may be more likely to volunteer or use more services. Keeping voters voting and converting non-voters to voters is a worthy endeavor that will pay off in terms of developing an engaged, trusting and supportive membership base.
Michael Tuteur is President and CEO of Votenet™ Solution Inc.
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