Local 12: Local expert weighs in on political mailers

Research is mixed on whether political mailers make an impact on voter opinions, but campaigns keep sending them out regardless, says UC political scientist Brian Calfano.

“You might say, ‘What’s the point, you just said there really isn’t any effect. Why do they keep doing it? That doesn’t make any sense,’” Calfano said. “Yes, exactly, it doesn’t make much sense, but because it’s sort of the thing to do–everyone expects that you’re going to have mailers, and you’re going to have these old-fashioned kind of campaign approaches, you go ahead and do it as a campaign.”

Calfano, a professor in the UC School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), says older generations are more reliable voters who likely prefer to be reached by mail.

SPIA was created out of the former Department of Political Science, which dates to 1914. Experts from the school are regularly cited in national and international media outlets.

Watch the interview with Calfano.

Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.