Publication Summary
January 6th highlighted ongoing threats to Democracy that have been exacerbated with scores of election deniers running for powerful offices. In response, HIT Strategies and Service Employees International Union partnered to conduct over a year of qualitative and quantitative research to understand what would mobilize voters of color around the freedom to vote- freedoms that are being actively restricted from anti-democracy politicians.
The research brought about rich takeaways on best practices to speak to all communities of color on this issue.
Results
- The research identifies Racial Justice voters—voters who care about racism/discrimination, see it as a big problem, and want action on the issue. These voters are most likely to be young, Black, and female.
- The research crafts messaging to best mobilize Racial Justice voters against voter suppression without offending more middle-of-the-road voters. We find that explicitly stating the racist intents and effects of voter suppression laws, and backing up these claims with specific examples, mobilizes Racial Justice voters and doesn’t turn off persuadables.