The Filer Voter Experiment: How Effective is Voter Registration at Tax Time?

The Filer Voter experiment, conducted in 2018, assessed the effectiveness of conducting voter registration drives at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites for lower-income households in Cleveland and Dallas. The Filer Voter program doubled the likelihood of unregistered voters registering to vote. Replicated at all VITA sites nationally, this would lead to about 115,000 unregistered eligible voters to register to vote, including 63,000 people who would not otherwise register.