Can informational videos increase trust in elections?
Research by Thad Kousser, Jennifer Gaudette, and Seth Hill (UC San Diego), Mac Lockhart (Yale), and Mindy Romero (USC); June 2024.
What you need to know
Public information videos can – but don’t always – increase trust in elections. Videos can increase election trust among people of all political stripes, independents, Republicans and Democrats alike. These videos typically explain the policies, procedures, and technology that ensure that ballots are counted accurately, often featuring election officials.
How we learned this
In mid-November 2022, in collaboration with election officials in Texas, Georgia, Colorado, and Los Angeles County, we surveyed 3,038 eligible voters nationwide, plus an additional 1,467 eligible voters in TX, 1,224 in GA, 1,379 in CO, and 1,230 in Los Angeles County. Survey respondents were randomly assigned to watch an election public information video, or to view a “control” video on an unrelated topic.
Results
People in… | Percent increase in eligible voters who agree they trust their state’s elections “some” or “a lot” | What they watched |
Texas | 13.0 | |
Georgia | 7.7 | |
Colorado | 4.6 | |
Los Angeles County | 7.5 | A video featuring the county registrar as the trusted source of information |
Colorado | No significant impact | A bipartisan video featuring current and former Secretaries of State of Colorado |
Los Angeles County | No significant impact | Informational Instagram graphics: https://toolkit.lavote.gov/instagram-posts/ |
Texas | No significant impact | An appearance on Fox news by a Texas official |
Nationwide | 2.5 increase in percentage who report they trust how elections are run in other states, 2.9 increase in percentage who trust election officials | Democracy Defended ad from Virginia or “Phil in the Blanks” from Maricopa County in Arizona |
Notes: | ||
How can election officials act on these findings?
Viewing the videos linked in this report shows that they do not require extravagant production value or complex plots; they typically feature registrars or Secretaries of State explaining election protections in a straightforward way so that the public can learn key facts from a trusted source. Officials then post them on their websites, social media, and share them through community networks.
What we don’t know yet
How long do increases in trust last? Why do some videos work, and not others? What are the best ways to deliver these messages? Could other messengers like poll workers, faith leaders, elected leaders, or celebrities strengthen election trust? We are conducting additional research studies during this election in order to answer these questions.
Learn more
ElectionLine blog
Yankeloich research brief on the survey experiments
Full report on the 2022 national Yankelovich Center survey on trust
Looking for a printable version of this research summary? Click the link below to download a PDF printable version: