Get-out-the-vote Research

My books and articles on voter mobilization politics examine how to increase voter turnout. Much of this work focuses on Latinx voters and members of other historically marginalized communities.

On this page you can find links to most of my voter mobilization scholarship from peer-reviewed journals. For copies of other work or book chapters on my cv, please reach out on the contact page.

Michelson, Melissa R., and Mara Ostfeld. 2024. “From concept to implementation: Engaging student researchers in get-out-the-vote field experiments.” In Elizabeth A. Bennion, ed., Teaching Experimental Political Science. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 137-154.

Bennion, Elizabeth A., and Melissa R. Michelson. 2023. “Educating Students for Democracy: What Colleges Are Doing, How It’s Working, and What Needs to Happen Next.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 705:1.

Kammerer, Edward F., Jr, and Melissa R. Michelson. 2022. “You Better Vote: Drag Performers and Voter Mobilization in the 2020 Election.” PS: Political Science & Politics.

Scott, Jamil S., Melissa R. Michelson, and Stephanie L. DeMora. 2021. “Getting Out the Black Vote in Washington DC: A Field Experiment.” Journal of Political Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2021.1939571   

Mann, Christopher B., Melissa R. Michelson, and Matt Davis. 2020. “What is the impact of bilingual communication to mobilize Latinos? Exploratory evidence from experiments in New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia.” Electoral Studies, online first.

Pringle, Lisa, Melissa R. Michelson, Jennifer Merolla, and Deborah Brown McCabe. 2018. “Calling all Neighbors: Mobilizing Turnout for a Local Housing Referendum.” Journal of Political Marketing 17, 4 (Dec.): 418-441.

Moura, Mauricio, and Melissa R. Michelson. 2017. “WhatsApp in Brazil: Mobilising Voters Through Door-to-Door and Personal Messages.” Internet Policy Review 6, 4 (Dec. 2017). DOI: 10.14763/2017.4.775

Valenzuela, Ali A., and Melissa R. Michelson. 2016. “Turnout, Status, and Identity: Mobilizing Latinos to Vote with Group Appeals.” American Political Science Review 110, 4 (Nov.): 615-630.

McCabe, Deborah Brown, and Melissa R. Michelson. 2015. “Pushing Too Hard: Using Door-in-the-Face to Get Voters out the Door.” Journal of Political Marketing 14, 4 (Oct.): 613-322.

Teresi, Holly, and Melissa R. Michelson. 2015. “Wired to Mobilize: The effect of social networking messages on voter turnout.” Social Science Journal 52, 2 (June): 195–204.

Michelson, Melissa R. 2014. “Memory and Voter Mobilization.” Polity 46, 4 (Oct.): 591-610.

Michelson, Melissa R., and Lisa García Bedolla. 2014. “Mobilization by Different Means: Nativity and GOTV in the United States.” International Migration Review 48, 3: 710-727.

Sinclair, Betsy, Margaret McConnell, and Melissa R. Michelson. 2013. “Local Canvassing: The Efficacy of Grassroots Voter Mobilization.” Political Communication 30, 1 (Jan.): 42-57.

Michelson, Melissa R., Neil Malhotra, Andrew Healy, Donald P. Green, Allison Carnegie, and Ali Adam Valenzuela. 2012. “The Effect of Prepaid Postage on Election Turnout: A Cautionary Tale for Election Administrators.” Election Law Journal 11, 3 (Sept.): 279-290.

Malhotra, Neil, Melissa R. Michelson, and Ali Adam Valenzuela. 2012. “Research Note: Emails from Official Sources Can Increase Turnout.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 7, 3 (June): 321-332. https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/QJPS-11073

Malhotra, Neil, Melissa R. Michelson, Todd Rogers, and Ali A. Valenzuela. 2011. “Text Messages as Mobilization Tools: Implications for Theories of Political Participation.” American Politics Research 39, 4 (July): 664-81.

Michelson, Melissa R., Lisa García Bedolla, and Margaret A. McConnell. 2009. “Heeding the Call: The Effect of Targeted Two-Round Phonebanks on Voter Turnout.” Journal of Politics 71, 4 (Oct.): 1549-1563.

García Bedolla, Lisa, and Melissa R. Michelson. 2009. “What Do Voters Need to Know? Testing the Role of Cognitive Information in Asian American Voter Mobilization.” American Politics Research 37, 2 (March): 254-274.

Michelson, Melissa R. 2006. “Mobilizing the Latino Youth Vote: Some Experimental Results.” Social Science Quarterly 87, 5 (Dec.): 1188-1206.

Michelson, Melissa R. 2005. “Meeting the Challenge of Latino Voter Mobilization.” Annals of Political and Social Science 601 (Sept.): 85-101.

Michelson, Melissa R. 2003. “Getting Out the Latino Vote: How door-to-door canvassing influences voter turnout in rural Central California.” Political Behavior 25, 3 (Sept.): 247-263.