University professors Allyson Shortle, Brooklyn Walker and Mark Harvey surveyed over 1,000 people before Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president. They asked respondents several questions ascertaining their feelings about Swift to differentiate the Swifties from the rest.
All respondents — fans and non-fans — were exposed to pictures of Swift asking them to vote.
The authors explain in an op-ed: “About 500 saw an image of Swift making a nonpartisan appeal to vote in the upcoming election. The other 500 were shown the same image of Swift, but this time Swift encouraged participants to vote for Democrats.”
Analyzing the data, the researchers discovered that Swift’s endorsement didn’t have much of an effect on partisan Swifties. But it did influence those who said they were undecided about whether to vote, and for whom.
"When undecided Swifties saw a picture of Swift encouraging them to vote for Democrats, their intent to vote actually declined significantly.
In short, the authors concluded, “in an election with tight margins, where campaigns need to mobilize their supporters, Swift’s endorsement of Harris may actually convince some undecided voters to stay home.”
It seems that for many voters, mixing entertainment with politicking could prove too hard to just “shake it off.”
Read the op-ed at TheHill.com.
