The Impact of Voter Education on Voter Confidence: Evidence from the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

Abstract

In this article, we assess whether voters who live in states where state election officials (EOs) invested in voter education have higher levels of confidence in vote counting. We argue state investment in voter education strengthens voter confidence by improving voter experiences and creating a culture of voter education, both of which facilitate transparency in elections. We measure state election official investment in voter education during the 2020 U.S. Presidential election by merging a unique dataset of EO social media communications during the last months of the 2020 election cycle with various election administration data sources. We find EO use of Facebook bolsters confidence in vote counting at the personal, local, and state level. Importantly, voters predisposed to question election integrity living in these states—those highly skeptical about the occurrence of fraud and who supported Donald Trump in 2016—express higher confidence at the personal, local, and state level in states where EOs were active on Facebook in 2020. Findings are mixed for measures of resource investment in voter education through federal and private funding. Our study is the first to establish a positive relationship between voter education and voter confidence. However, our findings also underscore the pervasive effects of partisanship and national narratives about stolen elections.