Surprising Discovery: Parties' Moral Rhetoric Boosts Copartisan Turnout

This article examines how parties use moral rhetoric during campaigns to mobilize their supporters. It argues that moral framing activates positive emotions among copartisans, leading to higher turnout.

Data & Methods

The study uses text analysis of party manifestos from six English-speaking democracies and measures voter response through survey data on copartisan behavior.

Key Findings

* Moral rhetoric significantly increases mobilization among supporters of the same party.

* Survey experiments conducted in Britain provide evidence for this effect.

* This finding demonstrates that moral framing has consequences beyond just shaping policy attitudes.

The results show moral rhetoric is an effective campaign strategy with tangible impacts on voter engagement.