Is This the Most Unexpected Voter Turnout Strategy Ever?

Is This the Most Unexpected Voter Turnout Strategy Ever?

Author: University of Chicago Podcast Network May 8, 2025 Duration: 41:09
What if one of the most powerful tools to boost voter turnout isn’t a flashy campaign or a new voting law—but being randomly forced to work the polls? In this episode, we explore a surprising study of women in 1930s Spain who were randomly assigned to serve as poll workers—just after they gained the right to vote. The results? A massive, 30-point increase in future voting behavior. Is this just a historical curiosity—or a window into how habit, exposure, and civic experience shape democracy? We speak with researcher Toni Rodon about his paper Working for Democracy: Poll Officers and the Turnout Gender Gap, and unpack what this unexpected experiment teaches us about gender, political culture, and the power of participation.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the constant churn of political news, where hot takes often replace deeper understanding. Not Another Politics Podcast cuts through that noise by grounding current events in the tools of political science. Hosted by Harris School of Public Policy professors William Howell, Anthony Fowler, and Wioletta Dziuda, this conversation from the University of Chicago Podcast Network moves past opinion and anecdote. Instead, each episode applies rigorous scholarship, analysis of large data sets, and foundational theory to the day’s biggest stories. What you’ll hear is a thoughtful examination of the mechanisms, institutions, and voter behaviors that actually drive outcomes, offering clarity where there is typically confusion. This isn’t a reactionary debate show; it’s a space where academic insight meets practical politics, giving you a more durable framework for understanding power, policy, and elections. Tune in for a genuinely fresh perspective that prioritizes evidence over echo chambers, making this podcast a resource for anyone who wants to move beyond the headlines and understand the why behind the news.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Not Another Politics Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Does Bad Government Breed Populism? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:16
Why is populism on the rise across the globe? One story says this movement is driven by anti-elite and anti-establishment sentiment, that they just want to throw the bums out. Another says it’s driven by identity politic…
Do Political Endorsements Undermine Trust In Science? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:25
In the runup to the 2020 election, the academic journal Nature made the unprecedented decision to endorse Joe Biden for President. During an era when trust in science has never seemed more crucial, this decision led many…
Do Politicians Spend Money Differently Depending On Its Source? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:00
If you found a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk, would you spend it differently than a hundred dollars made at work? This same question applies to politicians. Governments collect revenues from a variety of sources, d…
How Does Representation Work? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:02
There are two classic questions in political science research: how does representation work and how should it work? They’re crucial questions when it comes to designing a functioning democracy. In fact, researchers have…
The Polarization Of State Legislatures [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:00
When we talk about polarization on this podcast it’s almost always in the context of congress or the presidency. But are state legislatures polarizing as well? And, if they are, what can that tell us about the state of o…
Are We In A Period Of Global Democratic Decline? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:06
The popular narrative these days is that democracies around the globe are backsliding. If we turn to countries like Hungary, Poland, and Venezuela, this threat certainly is true — authoritarian dictators have contributed…
Political Brokers In India’s Most Marginalized Communities [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:56
On this show, we focus a lot on ideological polarization but it’s important to remember that politics is about more than ideology or even policy victories. It’s about distribution and redistribution of goods and services…
An Algorithm for Detecting Election Fraud [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:21
For better or worse, one of the biggest stories in US politics today is the detection of election fraud, or in many cases the lack of election fraud. But determining whether fraud happened in an election can be difficult…
Why The U.S. Isn’t As Polarized As It Seems [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:21
As we approach the anniversary of the January 6th attack on the US Capitol, we wanted to reflect on where we are as a country and whether politics are really as polarized as they seem. Our co-host Will Howell recently jo…
Why Aren't the Majority Of Voters Getting What They Want? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:30
Lately it feels like politicians are favoring smaller groups of their constituents over the majority of them. If you've been skeptical about whether this favoritism exists, there's a new theory that supports it. Some vot…