Dear John,

Like many of you, we have been working hard to adapt to our new reality under pandemic. But one question in particular has been on our minds: How will this pandemic affect the 2020 elections?

To answer this critical question, we turned to our favorite method: evidence-based science. That’s why our research arm, Sister District Action Network (SDAN) is launching two important coronavirus studies: a survey we invite you to complete, looking at grassroots activism in the age of COVID-19, and another on voters’ concerns around physical polling locations and support for vote-by-mail. These are just two of our 2020 studies and partnerships – read on for more below!

Coronavirus Research

Coronavirus has upended every single aspect of American life, and elections and volunteering are no exception. We’re launching two new research projects in response:

• Activism in the Age of COVID-19: Please take our new survey! It asks how volunteers are feeling right now, and how your life has been impacted by the pandemic – especially with regards to activism and volunteering. It is completely confidential, and will only take about 10 minutes to complete. The survey will remain open until May 31, and is for Sister District volunteers only (please do not forward).
   
• Crowding at the Ballot Box: We’ve teamed up with researchers at the University of Michigan to survey voters in key states about how COVID-19 might affect voters’ impressions of polling locations as crowded spaces and support for vote-by-mail and other social distancing voting measures.

Other 2020 Studies Underway

Since January, we’ve also launched a number of important, large-scale randomized controlled trials. Many of these studies were conducted using the US Postal Service (USPS), infusing nearly $50,000 in much-needed funds into the institution. Here are a few:

• Postcard Postmark: Our volunteers mailed 20,000 postcards to voters in Texas and North Carolina, half from out of state and half from within the state, to see whether receiving a postcard with a local postmark makes a difference in terms of turnout.
  Results timeline: July 2020
  Money to USPS: $7,500
   
• Two Primaries Postcards: Our volunteers sent 15,000 “Get Out the Vote” postcards to voters in Minnesota, Georgia, and Florida, educating them about the fact that their state has two primaries, to see if this voter education tactic increases turnout in primary elections.
  Results timeline: Spring 2021
  Money to USPS: $6,000
   
• Voter Registration with VPC: We partnered with Voter Participation Center (VPC) again to send 66,294 letters and postcards to folks in the rising American electorate (young people, people of color, and unmarried women), encouraging them to register to vote via VPC’s registration forms. The study will compare voters that received handwritten communications to similar voters who didn’t, and also compare voters who received postcards to voters who received letters. This is the first head-to-head study comparing postcards to letters.
  Results timeline: July 2020
  Money to USPS: Almost $35,000!

Research Resources

Hungry for even more of our research results? Check out our extensive online resources on everything we know about voter behavior and volunteer tactics. The information is available in many formats, including blog posts, one-page documents, and longform reports.

In these uncertain times, we remain dedicated to doing our best to continue to research best practices in voter outreach and volunteer engagement, as well as to lean into the moment and adjust our research agenda to respond to COVID-19 and produce quick results that can help advocacy organizations and policymakers to prepare for this November’s elections.

Thank you for all that you do to help us conduct our research and release these important results to the public.

Stay safe and well,
Gaby
Director of Research
Sister District Action Network