In the 2008 survey, conducted before the presidential nominating conventions, we asked people whether they expected to engage after the election in any of four possible ways:

•contacting elected officials about issues raised in the campaign,
•contacting the media about such issues,
•discussing such issues with friends, and
•working to change local policies in schools, workplaces, etc.

In 2009, we asked our respondents whether they had actually engaged in these ways since Election Day. Most (63.5%) had not done any of these things yet. The results for specific activities were quite consistent with people’s predictions a year ago, except that they have so far been less likely to try to change local policies and more likely to try to persuade friends.

The 2008 election may have produced a substantial stimulus for public discussion and deliberation, but citizens may still find it difficult to change policies in local institutions. Persuading friends seems to be the standard first step: 90% of the respondents who did any of these things tried to persuade friends.