How to boost voter turnout when participation is falling
The 2024 data is unambiguous: turnout at social elections erodes edition by edition, down to around 60%. The good news is that this decline is not inevitable. Several levers push turnout back up, and most are well-documented by research. Here they are, with numbers, and how to activate them.
First, why it drops
Before the remedies, the diagnosis. Turnout falls for simple, cumulative reasons:
- The vote feels remote. Many workers do not know exactly when, how, or why to vote.
- Practical friction. Travelling to a polling point, on work time, in a stretched team: every obstacle costs votes.
- Lack of communication. When no one flags the deadline, it goes unnoticed.
None of these causes is irreversible. Each has its lever.
Lever 1, Reminders, especially by SMS
This is the best-documented lever. Field experiments, across several countries, show that a single SMS reminder raises turnout by around 3 percentage points, at a negligible cost per additional vote.
Three points may not sound spectacular, but across a population of several hundred workers that means dozens of extra voters, and it can be enough to reverse a trend. The reminder works because it attacks the first cause: the vote people forget.
Lever 2, The right timing
When should those reminders go out? Research converges: a first reminder 2 to 3 weeks before the vote, then a final reminder 1 to 2 days before. Interestingly, a reminder sent a week ahead proves almost as effective as one the day before, so the exact day is not what matters, but that reminders happen, repeated and close to the vote.
Clear, well-paced communication can produce turnout gains in the range of 3 to 8 points, depending on the study. Timing is not a detail: it is a multiplier.
Lever 3, Channels matched to each population
As we have covered before: forcing everyone into a single channel excludes part of the workforce. Shop-floor workers without a work email, field staff, teams on staggered breaks need channels that reach them, paper code, SMS, on-site kiosk.
Online voting in particular does not mechanically raise turnout: international experience (Estonia) shows that clearly. But it prevents decline and removes friction. And above all, the most useful research finding, communication around online voting stimulates turnout, whatever channel the person ultimately uses. Announcing "you'll be able to vote from your phone" mobilises even those who will end up voting on paper.
Lever 4, Bet on the young
The 2024 data offers a valuable lead: young workers under 25 are the only segment whose turnout is rising (42% in 2024, up from 30% in 2016). It is counter-intuitive, we assume they are disengaged, but the figures say the opposite: they respond.
They respond above all to the channels they already use: smartphone, short messages, online voting. Targeting this group with the right tools means aiming at the most cost-effective segment in terms of participation points gained.
The combination, not the silver bullet
The trap would be to look for THE single lever. There isn't one. What makes the difference is the combination: a voting mode accessible to everyone, well-paced internal communication (reminders at the right moments), channels matched to each population, particular attention to the young. Each lever adds a few points; together, they reverse the trend.
In other words: the voting mode alone does not save turnout. It is the organisation around the vote that lifts it.
In short
Turnout falls by default, but numbered levers lift it: SMS reminders (~+3 points), good timing (reminders 2-3 weeks out + 1-2 days before, up to +8 points with clear communication), channels matched to each population, and targeting the young (the rising segment). No single lever is enough; it is their combination that counts.
For the full 2024 figures behind this analysis, read What the 2024 turnout data tells us. And if you want a voting setup built to mobilise, let's talk.
