Recent applications of organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) in bioelectronics motivate the search for new materials with mixed electronic and ionic conductivity. We investigate the characteristics of a series of poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based materials with a new class of anionic polyelectrolytes used as dopants and stabilizers, replacing the traditionally used poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS). We show that the backbone of the polyanion plays a major role in determining device performance, while its molecular weight and the counter ion used during PEDOT synthesis play a less important role. We find that transconductance increases with the degree of swelling of the film, consistent with enhanced ion transport. Finally, we identify a polymer that offers performance close to the state-of-the-art. This work highlights the importance of the polyanion phase as a means to control OECT performance. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.