Mobile phones are widely available,
both in developed and developing countries. The number of mobile phone users in
the world is expected to pass the 5 billion mark by 2019.[i]
We Are Social and Hootsuite
(social media marketing agencies) reports reveal that in 2018 there are more
than 4 billion people around the world using the internet; nearly a quarter of
a billion new users came online for the first time in 2017. Africa has seen the
fastest growth rates, with the number of internet users across the continent
increasing by more than 20 percent per year.[ii]
Using text messages to increase voter
turnout. Given the wide use of mobile
phones, using text messaging to get more young people
to polling stations is extremely efficient and cost-effective.
Example: In Norway, results from a pilot project in which selected voters in 27
municipalities received two text reminders before the 2015 election showed that
sending out such reminders increased turnout among young people under the age
of 30 by 5 percent, but had far less effect on the elderly.[iii] One of the text messages was sent out before
election day, while the second
came on election day and gave information about the opening
hours of polling stations.[iv]
Example: In Liberia’s 2017 election, the
Initiative for Democratic Alternatives conducted a project aimed at increasing
voter turnout of youth on election day through the use of text messaging. It
sent out multiple text messages e.g. number of days to elections, number of
voting precincts, etc. with the slogan: Register, Vote and Cast a Ballot.[v]
Text messaging is cost-effective. Research conducted after the
November 2006 elections in the United States demonstrated the effectiveness of
using text messages sent to mobile phones to mobilize young voters.[vi] The study found that text message reminders
to new voters increased an individual’s likelihood of voting by 4.2 percentage
points. This option’s mobilization effect of 4–5 per cent was associated with a
cost of only US$1.56 for each vote generated, which compared favorably to
other, more costly means, as seen below:
Text messages US$1.56/vote
Phone calls US$20/vote
Door-to-door canvassing US$30/vote
Leafleting US$32/vote
Direct mail US$67/vote
Online tools for continued
communication and advocacy. Avenues that
ensure continued communication with the youth electorate are likely to build
trust of young people in politics and help to transform political institutions
into more open and inclusive institutions. Online platforms allow citizens to
engage with their political leaders at community, municipal, provincial, and
national levels by providing them with the opportunity to collaborate and
openly share information, thereby bringing
to the fore the power
and agency of citizens to contribute
to and influence political dialogue.
Example: An interactive online platform
introducing the Lebanese legislative process to youth was created on the parliament’s website.
It allows youth/children and citizens at large to send inquiries and learn more about
the parliament and its members.[vii]
Example: In Germany, the Pirate Party created
a continuous, real-time political forum in which every member has equal input
on party decisions, and used LiquidFeedback, available as open-source software
powering internet platforms, for proposition development and decision-making.[viii] LiquidFeedback helps groups (such as societies or organizations,
political or not) make decisions without the limitations of a traditional
internet forum. It aims to create an accurate
representation of the opinions held by the members of the group without them being distorted by social
hierarchies and knowledge disparities. Any of the 6,000
members who use the forum created by the Pirate Party can propose a
policy. If a proposal picks up a 10 per cent quorum within a set period of
time, it becomes the focus of an almost “gamified” revision period. Any member
can also set up an alternative proposal, and over the ensuing few weeks these
rival versions battle it out, with members voting their favorites up or down.
Example: In the United States, the Countable
app allows citizens to receive summaries of bills going through Congress,
connect with representatives, share ideas, and take action (countable.us).
[i] "Number
of Smartphone Users Worldwide from 2014 to 2020 (in Billions)," Statista,
2018,
https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide.
[ii] Simon
Kemp, "Digital in 2018: World’s Mobile Users Pass the 4 Billion
Mark." We are Social, January 30, 2018.
https://wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018.
[iv] Faull,
"SMS Reminder."
[v] Initiative
for Democratic Alternatives (IDA) Liberia, "Youth and Elections in Liberia
2017 Project," Global Giving,
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/youth-elections-in-liberia/.
[vi] New
Voters Project, "Text /SMS Messaging is an Effective Method for Engaging Young Voters," Data360, September
2007, http://data360.org/pdf/20080227070446.Text-Messaging-Fact-Sheet.pdf.
[vii] AGORA
Platform, "Youth Political
Participation and Decision-Making in the Arab States," Arab Digest, April
2014, https://agora-parl.org/sites/default/files/arab_digest_-_youth_political_participation_and_decision_making_in_the_arab_states.pdf.
[viii] Kettman, Steve, "New Politics,
Ahoy!," New York Times, May 1,
2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/opinion/the-pirate-party-logs-a-new-politics.html.
