Young voters are the most text-native slice of the electorate, which makes texting an obvious way to reach them, and also leads campaigns to overestimate how easy that is. Text-native doesn't mean text-responsive to political messages, and youth voters are historically low-propensity, so turning them out takes the same relationship and relevance that work for anyone, just applied to a group that lives on their phones. Here's what the picture suggests.
Are young voters easier to reach by text?
Easier to reach, not automatically easier to move. Younger voters use text as a primary channel, so a message is likely to be seen, which is a real advantage over email or a phone call they'll never answer. But being seen isn't being acted on. A generic political blast is as easy for a young voter to ignore or opt out of as anyone, arguably easier, since they're saturated with messages. So texting removes the reach problem for youth voters while leaving the harder problems, relevance and motivation, intact.
What actually moves young voters?
The same things that move low-propensity voters generally, because that's largely what they are:
- Relationship and messenger. A message from a peer or someone they know, relational texting, beats a cold campaign blast, and trust matters even more for a skeptical young audience.
- Plan-making and friction removal. Clear, specific how-to-vote help, since first-time and infrequent voters get tripped up by logistics.
- Relevance. Messages about what they care about, in a voice that doesn't feel like a press release.
How should campaigns think about it?
Use texting's reach advantage, but don't rely on it. The mistake is assuming that because young voters live on text, a texting blast turns them out, it doesn't, any more than it turns out anyone. Treat youth voters as a reachable but low-propensity group: use text to reach them since it's the channel they actually check, then apply the higher-touch tactics, relational contact, plan-making, relevance, that move irregular voters. The reach is the easy part; the persuasion and turnout work is the same as always.
Frequently asked questions
Do young voters respond to political texts?
They're easy to reach by text since it's their primary channel, but being reached isn't being moved. A generic blast is easy for them to ignore or opt out of, so reach is the easy part and relevance and motivation are the hard parts.
How do you turn out young voters by text?
With the tactics that move low-propensity voters generally, relational messages from peers, plan-making, friction removal, and relevance, applied over text since that's the channel they check. Don't rely on a blast.
Are young voters low-propensity?
Historically yes, they vote at lower and more variable rates than older voters. So texting youth voters is a low-propensity turnout problem with a reach advantage, not an automatic win.
Keep reading: turning out low-propensity voters by text and which voters respond to texts?. For carrier registration, see The Campaign Registry.