Elections

In studying the mechanisms that determine how candidates prevail in presidential primaries, political scientists have often focused on momentum and how a candidate can pull away from the field. But they have also studied the “winnowing” process, analyzing the factors that cause candidates to drop out and, by attrition, ultimately leave one candidate as the nominee.

In response to the controversial 2000 U.S. presidential election, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) two years later. Among its provisions was financial assistance to enable states to replace traditional voting machines — including those responsible for Florida’s notorious “hanging chads” — with direct-recording electronic (DRE) devices intended to be more accurate and secure.

A growing number of studies have examined how search engine and social media activity can be used to document current social trends and predict future patterns. Indeed, research literature has found that activity registered in Google Trends and Twitter chat can help predict various kinds of consumer and social data, including consumer goods marketability, the success of movies pending release and disease outbreaks.

Political campaigns embraced online media such as websites and blogs in the 2004 presidential election. However, campaign 2008 was truly the first time that Web 2.0 technologies — those that allow for more wide-open social interactivity and networking — played a major role in a presidential race. One outstanding research question remains whether or not such technologies will ultimately narrow or broaden the marketplace of ideas to which citizens are exposed.

According to a Pew Internet survey, in 2008 approximately 25% of Americans got their political news primarily from the Internet. While most traditional news outlets strive to cultivate a balanced perspective, many blogs take sides and fiercely advocate for their preferred candidates and causes.

The widespread adoption of Twitter as a platform on which to talk about politics and advocate for candidates has changed the way campaign operatives think about strategy — and the way that many citizens engage in the campaign.