West Wing ad worked for court justice, not for added voting

Fans of “The West Wing” may be disappointed with this news.

The 4-minute campaign video featuring West Wing cast members achieved an impressive 1 million YouTube views and helped Bridget McCormack win election to the Michigan Supreme Court, but it apparently failed its mission to encourage down-ballot voting on Election Day.

According to an analysis by Lansing-based MRG, the voting drop-off in the non-partisan section of the ballot was 31 percent, up by about five percentage points from 2010.

That may not be surprising when comparing an off-year election with a presidential vote that attracts many “low-information” voters. But it’s still disappointing.

McCormack, whose sister appeared on “The West Wing” for several years, captured an 8‐year term on the state’s high court with approximately 3.2 million votes. President Obama carried the state with 4.7 million votes.

“While the West Wing ad was certainly clever and reached over 1 million viewers on YouTube, it appears that the West Wing ad worked for Bridget McCormack, not for … getting voters to vote the non-partisan ballot,” said MRG president Tom Shields.