Nonprofits Have the Power to Produce Big Gains in Voter Turnout, Study Says

Nonprofits helped boost voter turnout by 11 percentage points during the 2018 elections, according to a study of voting patterns in seven states by Nonprofit Vote, which works with other charities to encourage voter participation.

The study found that 66 percent of people who were contacted by nonprofits and then signed voter-registration cards, made pledges to vote, or filled out vote-by-mail applications actually voted. That compares with a 55 percent turnout rate among people in comparable demographic categories that included gender, race, age, marital status, and geographic location.

Nonprofit Vote used voting patterns of 22,500 people who had been contacted by 64 of its partner organizations to make its determination.

“When we engage, we have impact,” said Brian Miller, the group’s executive director.

Voting Gains

There was a bigger payoff among groups with historically low voter turnout. Voters contacted by nonprofits were twice as likely to be nonwhite, twice as likely to have an annual household income of less than $30,000, and nearly three times as likely to be under 25 years old. Among each of those groups, people voted at a higher rate after being contacted by a nonprofit. For example:

• 64 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted, compared with 44 percent of their peers.
• Voting by people with low incomes increased 14 percentage points, to 52 percent.
• Asian-American voting increased 16 points to hit 71 percent.
• Voting among blacks increased 13 percentage points to 64 percent.
• Hispanic voting went up 13 percentage points to 56 percent.

Miller said Nonprofit Vote will increase its efforts during the current election cycle and has established partnerships with national groups, including the Food Research & Action Center, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the United Way, and the Y to distribute voter-participation tool kits and guides for nonprofit workers to engage potential voters in a nonpartisan manner.

As the 2020 elections loom, Miller hopes nonprofits play a larger role in getting out the vote. Political parties don’t care about reaching people not involved in the political process, he said.

“Their goal is simply to win elections,” he said. “They’re going to focus their campaign time and their door knockers on communities that have a history of voting. A lot of the communities we serve as nonprofits get a fraction of the campaign communication that other voters do.”