ABSTRACT
Fear-based messaging definitely makes some in audiences want to lace up their gloves and get in the ring. But those are likely the people already won over—people who have gone beyond voting to additional forms of activism and engagement. Voting behavior is highly correlated to parental voting behavior. In other words, kids whose parents vote are more likely to grow up to be voters. In 2018, MomsRising put forth an unprecedented effort—across channels and tactics, with over 38,000 volunteers—to engage moms in North Carolina and Florida, specifically Black, Latina, Asian American, and Pacific Islander moms—that intuitively brought these questions to the fore. MomsRising wove the dual identities of mom and voter into more than their messaging. They made voting more feasible and fun by sending out coloring sheets loaded with localized polling place information and placing treasure boxes full of kid-approved distractions in select spots to make waiting in line with little ones easier.
