The effects of election official mobilization: Evidence from an academic-policy collaboration

The aim of this project is to understand how an ad campaign used by the Connecticut Secretary of State (SotS) may affect voter turnout in municipal elections. Municipal elections are key for determining policy outcomes, yet participation in municipal elections is far lower than in national elections. Voter mobilization campaignstcan increase voter turnout (Enos and Fowler, 2018). In partnership with SotS, we randomize the extension of an online ad campaign by the Connecticut Secretary of State (SotS) to encourage voter turnout in the November 2025 municipal election. The ad campaign is focused on the pivotality of individual voters to determine election outcomes, i.e., the idea that elections - especially municipal elections - can be determined by a small number of votes. Using the Connecticut voter data file and returns from past election, we aim to causally assess the effect of this campaign on turnout.