Simple videos can restore trust in US elections
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Researchers at UC Riverside discovered that election officials can improve public trust in election security by explaining safeguards in simple videos, even among voters who suspect manipulation.
Jennifer Gaudette and colleagues published studies in the Election Law Journal, British Journal of Political Science, and PNAS Nexus detailing how factual information can reduce partisan distrust.
They found that Republicans and Democrats alike often distrust elections held in states controlled by the opposing party, but exposure to videos explaining security measures increased trust in elections in those states by 10 to 12.5 percentage points on average. The team ran experiments with nearly 15,000 people from across the US, as well as targeted samples in Texas, Georgia, Colorado, and Los Angeles County.
Participants watched videos explaining how elections are secured, with some groups viewing information about elections in other states. This research suggests that concerns about election security aren't fixed, and that providing facts can shift people’s opinions. Further research showed that the quality of the video isn’t critical. Gaudette filmed a basic video on her cellphone explaining that voting machines aren’t connected to the internet and that ballot counting is bipartisan, and it proved almost as effective as professionally made videos.
Over 8,000 Americans participated in this study, and those who watched Gaudette’s video were 8 to 9 percentage points more likely to remember key facts about election security than those who watched official videos. Gaudette recommends that election officials communicate on social media to address misinformation and explain election processes.
