PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY FEMALE ELECTION SUPERVISORS TO PREVENT VOTE-BUYING IN THE 2024 ELECTIONS: AN ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL APPROACH

Abstract

This study is motivated by the Election Vulnerability Index (IKP) in South Tangerang, which categorizes money politics as a high-risk indicator, alongside a female registered voter list (DPT) that exceeds the male demographic by 18,727 individuals—a condition frequently exploited through grassroots channels for covert vote-buying. This research analyzes the application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) in the persuasive communication strategies employed by female election supervisors at Bawaslu to prevent vote-buying in the 2024 General Election. This study aims to: describe the forms of persuasive communication utilized by female supervisors; identify the media and communication channels employed; and analyze the effects of this persuasive communication in fostering anti-money politics awareness through the lens of ELM. A descriptive qualitative approach with a case study method was employed, using purposive sampling for informant selection. The findings indicate that the persuasive communication strategy combines interpersonal communication and informal small-group communication. Female supervisors applied identification techniques by shedding formal agency attributes and adapting their diction to everyday vernacular to diminish psychological distance with the community. The communication media comprised physical flyers creatively transformed into digital graphics and disseminated through digital interpersonal and social channels, specifically community WhatsApp groups (neighborhood units, Family Welfare Empowerment/PKK, and informal social gatherings/arisan). Based on the ELM analysis, this strategy successfully shifted the cognitive processing of community members toward the Central Route. A comfortable, nondistracting communication setting initially facilitated audience receptivity via the peripheral route, while clear substantive information regarding two-way criminal liability (penalizing both givers and receivers) functioned as high-quality arguments that heightened personal relevance and motivation. Reinforced by physical symbolic gestures rejecting vote-buying to lock in commitment, the application of ELM proved effective in fostering an autonomous, stable, enduring, and resistant moral stance against money politics.