Voter Mobilization 101: Presidential Campaign Visits to Colleges and Universities in the 2016 Election

Abstract

Presidential candidates frequently hold campaign events on college and university campuses. Yet, the frequency of and motivations for holding these events on-campus has not been subject to systematic empirical analysis. This article analyzes an original database of presidential campaign visits in 2016 to determine how often and why the candidates held their events on-campus. I find that colleges and universities hosted more campaign visits (16.9%) than any other type of venue in 2016. Also, the Democratic candidates apparently used these visits to mobilize young people to register and vote. Democrats (29.5%) visited campuses far more often than Republicans (8.2%), and—unlike Republicans—Democrats were significantly more likely to hold events on-campus, instead of at another venue, as the host-state’s voter registration deadline, its early voting period, or Election Day neared. This research informs scholars’ understanding of the role that young people, as well as colleges and universities, play in American electoral politics. Young people, and college students in particular, are notorious for their (relative) disengagement from electoral politics—so much so that the leading text on this subject asks: Is Voting for Young People? Indeed, Wattenberg (2016) found that young people are far less likely than older people to vote in presidential elections, midterm elections, and party primaries; to register to vote; and to engage in political activism. In that case, it would only seem to make strategic sense that political parties are less likely to contact young people during a campaign (Beck and Heidemann 2014; Wattenberg 2016, 180) or to focus on issues of particular concern to youths (Wattenberg 2016, ch. 6). Yet, in some ways, young people are ideal targets for campaign appeals. Why? First, there is a greater opportunity to change young people’s electoral behavior precisely because they are less likely to be registered to vote and to be in the habit of voting (Brody and Sniderman 1977). In other words, there are more non-voters for campaigns to convert among younger people. Second, young people are less likely to have strong partisan attachments, and they are more likely to vote for independent or minor party candidates (Erikson and Tedin 2015, 148). Thus, campaigns have a greater opportunity to influence not only whether but also for whom young people vote. Third, young people are more likely than older people to identify as ideologically liberal (Erikson and Tedin 2015, 147; Wattenberg 2016, 141), and they tend to identify as Democrats (Pew Research Center 2016). Democratic campaigns, therefore, have a particular incentive to mobilize young (potential) voters. Finally, in contrast to many other groups of voters that campaigns might want to target, it is not difficult to find thousands of young people gathered in one place, in multiple locations within every state, on a daily basis. Where? On college campuses. CAMPAIGNING ON CAMPUS College and university campuses are widely regarded as “hotbeds of activism” (Van Dyke 1998) and often they are at the epicenter of political controversy—from antiwar protests in the 1960s to battles over free speech and hate speech today. When it comes to elections, probably the most common and visible on-campus efforts to influence student voting behavior are registration drives and other events organized by student-run clubs such as the College Republicans and College Democrats. However, these clubs typically are party subsidiaries and not, in any formal sense, part of an actual campaign organization. The most direct way in which the campaigns appeal to young people on college campuses is through candidate visits. High-profile candidate visits to college campuses have become staples of modern presidential campaigning, and their apparent objective typically is to register and turn out young voters. Christopher J. Devine is assistant professor of political science at the University of Dayton. He can be reached at [email protected].