Internet Town Halls Increase Constituent Trust

Personal interaction with a member of Congress, even online, has a significant and positive impact on a constituent’s view of the lawmaker and other benefits for democracy according to a recent study conducted by the Congressional Management Foundation and researchers at Harvard, Northeastern, Ohio State and the University of California-Riverside. Approval ratings for members who held online town hall meetings shot up an average of 18%, an impressive increase given the generally sour public attitude toward Congress these days.

The potential for online townhall meetings to engage citizens in civic activity is high according to the report, Online Town Hall Meetings: Exploring Democracy in the 21st Century. Among the key findings of the report are:

• In addition to the overall 18% increase in approval, the study found similar increases in trust and perceptions of personal qualities such as describing the member of Congress as hardworking and accessible. Lawmakers also gained greater approval for their position on the issue discussed in the online town hall meeting.
• Online town halls attracted more diverse groups of participants than traditional constituent meetings, including those not typically engaged in politics and people frustrated with the political system.
• The online sessions were very popular, with 96% of constituents saying they would like to be included in similar events in the future.
• Political engagement increased among online town hall participants. Participants in the sessions were more likely to vote, follow elections, and persuade others how to vote.
• Online town halls increased the probability that a constituent would vote for that member of Congress in the future, with the greatest impact on swing voters.
• Discussions at online town halls were of high quality, with high use of accurate facts and respect for alternate points of view.
• The positive results were seen in sessions of all sizes, with as few as 15-25 constituents or as many as 200 people participating online.

The report has a lot of good information for lawmakers at every level–not just Congressional reps–to consider. It even includes a “Do It Yourself” section of Suggestions for Successful Online Town Halls.