Election technology

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Election technology, notably the internet, has changed the face of running for office in recent years. The running of candidates for the position of the President of the United States of America is clearly one of the highest forms of competition in the modern world. When such a competition exists, rules are hard to come by and sometimes even harder to enforce. The inception of the internet has created an entirely different rule book for presidential candidates to go through.

This new era of internet candidacies is heavily debated among political circles. There is fear of cheating side by side with the hope for greater involvement of youth in politics. Some of the biggest problems arise from people online having the ability to spread misinformation and change entire pages online without the consent of owners. One of the most important factors for candidates in using the internet is raising money. Having a web page where people can offer funds to a candidate has become a substantial source of money for most candidates. The internet makes a voter's understanding of candidates easier and a candidate's job to inform voters easier as well.

Other technologies that have come to change the face of politics mostly have to do with voting. More specifically this has to deal with the debate over voting machines. The government has invested over USD 3 billion in trying to make an effective system for voting machines and yet the country still has not found one. The fear of hacking and the insecurity of a lack of paper trail makes voting authorities question the viability of such methods.

Researching

The topic is a new one especially when in the realm of the world wide web. This makes compiling data an active process where new information outweighs the credibility of old data. Specific sources that were helpful usually were about analysis of recent online activity and its effects on elections. A specific source that comes to mind was a study done by MIT and Caltech which measured and compared election polls with candidate web page hits. The source itself gave a deeper analysis of the involvement of the internet on political races and a real life source for citing.

Annotated Bibliography

1. “Presidential Campaign Explores a New Medium”
This is an interview between Jeffrey Brown and Carrol Darr. The interview is about how the new presidential election is developing the tools for the future of elections. They discuss the fact that in the 2004 election it was not really seen, but now it has become a mainstay and is developing to be possibly the most important aspect of an election. ^[1]

2. “Election 2008: The Internet Campaign”
Discusses how changes in election styles have changed the roles of many people in the business of campaigning. Uses a member of the Howard Dean campaign in 2004 as an example. The person in the examples role has changed incredibly since his role in one of the first highly online campaigns. Uses the example as a case for proving that the presidential election of 2008 will be the first real campaign that uses the internet to its full potential. ^[2]

3. “Voter Learning in the 2004 Presidential Election: Did the Media Matter?”
Discusses the hypothesis that voter inundation of information would lead to apathy. The article looks at previous elections and the one in 2004 to determine if the increase in information via television, internet, and other media would cause people to stop caring about elections. The findings proved the hypothesis wrong. ^[3]

4. “Hackers' dirty tricks threaten to distort elections”
Important article that discusses multiple instances in which internet hackers have been able to alter the ideas of people on voting and cause misinformation to circulate. It offers specific examples of articles saying that immigrants could not vote and a case on myspace. ^[4]

5. “Several States Scrap Electronic Voting”
This news article from the Washington Post gives a pro side and a negative side to the debate and current developments of voting in the presidential primaries. Discusses that top election officials have decided that the machines are not capable to be used in the next election. This is fairly surprising to the author because the government invested 3 billion dollars into the development of effective voting machines. ^[5]

6. “Near - Time Web 2.0 Hosted Service Accelerates Political Campaign Communications and Collaboration”
A discussion of how technology has innovated political campaigns. Communication between people working in campaigns is being eased by programs that companies have created. They make the distribution of information and ideas easier and faster, and thus increase the effectiveness of a campaign. ^[6]

7. “Online Activism may make Difference on Election Day”
The article in question is an analysis of the fact that in recent congressional elections candidates have been turning to the internet to create an initial support base and to sway the minds of undecided voters. This article came from the U.S. State News and it was originally an article from the University of Washington. There is not a printed author, but the information comes from Lexis Nexis, which tends to be reliable. The article is intended for anyone with a mind for modern politics, and though it is aimed at congressman in 2006, its connotations for the presidential race of 2008 are obvious. This work shows how politicians are using the internet to further their political campaigns. ^[7]

8. “A Brave New World of Voting”
The question of the negative impacts of advancements in elections is not a new one. Especially after some of the fiascos that the United States has seen in some recent elections. One problem being that electronic voting does not currently leave a paper trail and gives the possibility for “cheating”. The article gives further examples of this being a problem like the fact that the companies that created the machines have the rights to them and don’t have to show their programming to prove their counts. ^[8]

9. “Researchers from Caltech and MIT Track Improvements to Voting Process”
The article discusses how students from MIT and Caltech have been researching recent elections and have tried to implement methods to improve the ease and efficacy of the modern voting process. The research has been taken into account by voting authorities and used in some places. It mostly takes into account the problems that have been faced in the recent polling in Florida. ^[9]

10. “Online Fund-Raising and Contributors in the 2004 Presidential Campaign”
This is an article that is about the changing in presidential campaign money donations. It discusses how the advent of the internet has changed the type of person who gives money to candidates and in that same though makes it easier for candidates to raise money very quickly. The article also found that younger people were more often donating online and that political liberals where more often receiving donations through this method. ^[10]

11. “From Barricades to Firewalls? Strategic Voting and Social Movement Leadership in the Internet Age”
This discusses how starting in the 2000 election certain candidates have learned to use the internet to fuel campaigns and entire elections. Strategic voting has allowed long shot candidates to stay in a race by polling and working their way around the internet using new technology. ^[11]

12. “Take a Cue from the Candidates: President 2008”
Though it is another article without a cited author, it is one of the most applicable sources of data I have found yet for my research. The short article is mostly a listing and an analysis of the different methods that the most recent presidential election has used that implement the internet. The article itself was found through Academic Search Premier which tends to bring up reliable sources. This is a small blip that gives a concise review of how the field of elections is changing in the modern age. ^[12]

13. “Campaigns Experimenting Online to See What Works”
An analytical paper on how the current candidates have used the internet as a source for furthering their presidential goals. It gives a thorough discussion of how different candidates have either raised money, gained fans, or even based entire campaigns via the internet. ^[13]

14. “How the web will--or won't--change elections”
Here it is discussed that through surveys the fact that people are affected by the internet in making their voting decision. Informs reader of the fact that it is now found that the internet is more effective than television at causing people to vote. Though it also says that the current election is not the true “new” election. ^[14]

15. “Where Voters are Clicking”
This article is used to give some real world data instead of just a viewpoint on the topic. The article itself discusses how the popularity of presidential candidates can partially be determined via checking the number of visitors to a candidates web page or the number of times a candidates name is searched in a search engine. Discusses especially how current events have effects on the activity on certain websites. ^[15]

References

1. ^ Brown, Jeffrey, and Carrol Darr. Presidential Campaign Explores a New Medium. Vol. Interview of Carrol Darr by Jeffrey Brown., 2007. Jan 29, 2008
2. ^ Cone, Edward. "Election 2008: The Internet Campaign." CIO Insight Weekly Report (2007): Jan 29, 2008. <http://www.cioinsight.com>
3. ^ Drew, Dan, and David Weaver. "Voter Learning in the 2004 Presidential Election: Did the Media Matter?" Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 83.1 (2006): 25-42
4. ^ Marshall, Jessica. "Hackers' Dirty Tricks Threaten to Distort Elections." New Scientist 196.2625 (2007): 30-.
5. ^ Merritt, George, and Associated Press. "Several States Scrap Electronic Voting ; Security , Programming Flaws Cause Return to Paper Ballots." The Washington Post January 20 2008, sec. A-SECTION: A04.
6. ^ "Near - Time Web 2.0 Hosted Service Accelerates Political Campaign Communications and Collaboration ; Campaign Network Uses Near - Time to Deliver Next Generation, Web Communications and Campaign Management." Business Wire May 9 2007.
7. ^ News, US S. "Online Activism may make Difference on Election Day." US States News October 25 2006.
8. ^ Niman, Michael I. "A Brave New World of Voting." Humanist 64.1; 1 (2004): 10-3.
9. ^ Olsen, Florence. "Researchers from Caltech and MIT Track Improvements to Voting Process." Chronicle of Higher Education 49.16; 16 (2002): A38.
10. ^ Panagopoulos, Costas, and Daniel Bergar. "Online Fund-Raising and Contributors in the 2004 Presidential Campaign." Social Science Computer Review 25.4 (2007): 484-93.
11. ^ Schussman, Alan and Earl, Jennifer. “From Barricades to Firewalls? Strategic Voting and Social Movement Leadership in the Internet Age”. Sociological Inquiry v. 74 no. 4 (November 2004) p. 439-63
12. ^ "TAKE A CUE FROM THE CANDIDATES: President 2008." T+D 61.12 (2007): 16-.
13. ^ Vargas, Jose A., and Washington P. S. Writer. "Campaigns Experimenting Online to See what Works." The Washington Post February 3 2008, sec. A-SECTION: A14.
14. ^ Wheaton, Ken. "How the Web Will--Or Won't--Change Elections." Advertising Age 79.5 (2008): 12-.
15. ^ "Where Voters are Clicking." PC Magazine 26.24 (2007): 20-.