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The ABCs of Electoral Reform: The Impact of Reading Levels on Knowledge, Interest and Opinion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2020

Holly Ann Garnett Open the ORCID record for Holly Ann Garnett [Opens in a new window]  and
André Blais Open the ORCID record for André Blais [Opens in a new window]
Holly Ann Garnett*
Affiliation:
Royal Military College of Canada, P.O. Box 17000, Station Forces Kingston, ONK7K 7B4
André Blais
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal, Pavillon Lionel-Groulx local C4040, 3150, rue Jean-Brillant, Montréal, QCH3T 1N8
*
*Corresponding author. Email: holly.garnett@queensu.ca
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Abstract

How should citizens be educated about complicated political issues like electoral reform? Are there basic principles that should be followed? This article tests one potential principle for government bodies, the media and educators to follow when conducting information campaigns: namely, lowering the reading level of information. Educators have long argued that texts can be confusing when written at a literacy level higher than the reader is able to digest. This article tests the impact of reading level on knowledge, interest and opinion on an electoral reform proposal. It employs an experimental design, conducted in person in fall 2018 with college students in Ontario, Canada. The experiment asked the students to read a text on a single transferable vote (STV) electoral system at one of three reading levels (or a control text) and then answer a series of questions gauging their knowledge, interest and opinion on the electoral reform proposal. The results provide an assessment of the impact of different levels of information on these factors and suggest concrete recommendations for election management bodies (EMBs) and other actors seeking to educate the public on complex political issues.

Résumé

Résumé

Comment sensibiliser les citoyens à des questions politiques complexes comme la réforme électoraleY a-t-il des principes de base à suivreCet article teste un principe potentiel que les organismes gouvernementaux, les médias et les pédagogues devraient suivre lorsqu'ils mènent des campagnes d'information : à savoir, abaisser le niveau de lecture des informations. Les pédagogues soutiennent depuis longtemps que les textes peuvent être déroutants lorsqu'ils sont écrits à un niveau d'alphabétisation supérieur à celui que le lecteur est capable d'assimiler. Cet article teste l'impact du niveau de lecture sur les connaissances, l'intérêt et l'opinion autour d'une proposition de réforme électorale. Il utilise un modèle expérimental, mené en personne à l'automne 2018 auprès d'étudiants de l'Ontario, au Canada. L'expérience consistait à demander aux étudiants de lire un texte sur un système électoral à vote unique transférable à l'un des trois niveaux de lecture (ou un texte de contrôle) et de répondre ensuite à une série de questions évaluant leurs connaissances, leur intérêt et leur opinion sur la proposition de réforme électorale. Les résultats fournissent une évaluation de l'impact des différents niveaux d'information sur ces facteurs et suggèrent des recommandations concrètes pour les organes de gestion des élections et les autres acteurs qui cherchent à éduquer le public sur des questions politiques complexes.

Keywords

electoral reformcivic literacypolitical informationreferendumRéforme électoralecompétence civiqueinformation politiqueréférendum
Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , December 2020 , pp. 872 - 886
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2020

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