Political Party Persuasion

The heads of political parties are always trying to find ways to persuade people to join them. Encouraging supporters to vote is perhaps the most obvious way in which party efforts can lead to electoral victories, and mobilization has been shown to increase turnout (Kramer 1970). Political success, however, also depends on other forms of participation, and mobilization has also proven helpful in spawning campaign.
Mobilization is a costly activity, political parties are not able to mobilize all members of society. As a result, parties must be strategic in their efforts. I identify four primary strategic considerations. First, parties consider the participatory predispositions of individuals. That is, parties target individuals who are more likely to respond to mobilization, individuals who are more predisposed to activity by their individual characteristics.
Thus, predictors of voting (and other political activity) such as income, education, age, and party identification should also ...