E-Voter Research

Take Our Voter Expectations Survey

E-Voter Institute is taking our 5th Annual Survey of Voter Expectations.  Please take a few minutes and share your opinions about how campaigns and advocates should use online media as well as traditional methods to inform you about candidates and causes.

CLICK HERE to participate. Thanks!

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Mobile Apps for Civic Engagement

Guests on the first Digital Politics podcast of the new year are Kurt Daradics and David Kralik from CitySourced powered by FreedomSpeaks.  With all the buzz about apps in general, it is useful to find those apps which can really have an impact for an individual, local community, nationally and globally.  Kurt and David talk about how civic engagement is the new “green” and that we are just beginning to see the impact when mobile is combined with the social media dimension and physical location identification.

Another example of how all politics is local as well as the potential of disruptive technology to change all of our lives.

Listen to this thought provoking preview of government in the new decade.

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Virtual Book Parties

Recorded in mid-December 2009, these virtual book parties for About Face: The Dramatic Impact of the Internet on Politics and Advocacy (E-Voter Institute Press, 2009) make for interesting listening and might even make you want to buy the book.  These bi-partisan discussions with many of the contributors to the book add an update and further reality check for strategists, candidates, and campaign managers.

Go to the E-Voter Store for details on how to get the About Face book in print or eBook format.

First Virtual Book Party

Topics include targeting, voter expectations, mobile, search and online ads.

Participants

Karen Jagoda, Shaun Dakin, Kathie Legg, Tony Winders, Colin Delany, Jason Krebs, Porter Bayne, Cyrus Krohn

Second Virtual Book Party

Topics include the new face of political and advocacy campaigns, trends to watch for in 2010 and 2012, and reaching the loyal base as well as swing and Independent voters.

Participants

Karen Jagoda, Michael Bassik, Tony Winders, Rich Berke, Ben Katz, Dan Schnur, Mark Davis

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About Face: The Dramatic Impact of the Internet on Politics and Advocacy

The new E-Voter Institute book About Face: The Dramatic Impact of the Internet on Politics and Advocacy, Karen A.B. Jagoda (E-Voter Institute Press, 2009) has just been published.  This is the second in a series of books about how the Internet is impacting the way political and advocacy campaigns are being run and how the web is changing the expectations of voters. This book with contributions from 20 industry insiders will stand the test of time.  It is a mixture of optimism about the use of the Internet in campaigns with a strong element of realism about how hard it is to effectuate change in the process.

With the results of the 2009 elections today, we now see that strategies and lessons learned in 2008 may or may not work in 2010 to say nothing about 2012.  Our new book includes best practices, case studies and research that can help political strategists more clearly see the Internet options for reaching and persuading voters.

The E-Voter book is available as a trade paperback and eBook.   Check out the ISBN information and links on the E-Voter Institute site to order the book. We have set up a Twitter account and Facebook page so follow us and become a fan. Please help us promote the book and let the community know what you think about our conclusions.  You can also leave comments on this posting.  We will be highlighting the other authors over the next weeks and we all welcome questions and comments.

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Motivating Voters

Guests on the Digital Politics podcast this week are Rich Berke, HCD Research and Chris Borick, Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion talking about the E-Voter Institute’s 4th Annual Survey of Voter Expectations–Persuading and Motivating Voters:  What Will It Take in 2010?

We all agreed that there are remarkably similar attitudes between people along the political spectrum, and across gender, ages and ethnic groups.  The study shows how pervasive the web has become in our everyday lives as well as how it has changed the expectations of voters.  Provocative indications in the study point to the need for new ways to motivate voters to contribute, show support for candidates, and turn out to vote in order to break through the media clutter.

The study reveals that people find debates informative but the high percentage of people who say this makes me wonder if they are all watching the full debates, selections on cable news shows, downloading YouTube excerpts or reading about them online or in the newspapers.

Download the study and check out this interview for more insights:

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Your Opinion Counts

If you are a political consultant, media strategist, fundraiser, grassroots organizer, public relations professional, pollster, campaign manager, direct mail guru, television ad expert, phone bank provider or interested academic take the 8th Annual E-Voter Institute Survey of Political and Advocacy Communications Leaders

Click here to take this short, confidential survey:

https://www.hcdsurveys.com/go/J7392

OR

Put on your voter’s hat and take the 4th Annual E-Voter Institute Survey of Voter Expectations

Click here to take this short, confidential survey.

https://www.hcdsurveys.com/go/J7391

Once again our partner is HCD Research.  All responses are anonymous and no identifying information is retained.

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Future Campaigns Must be More Interactive and Voter-Driven

Washington, DC, January 22, 2009 – Results of a new national study among  3536 Americans revealed that there has been a permanent move from passive communications in political campaigns to on-demand information and relationships with candidates.

The E-Voter Institute surveys conducted by HCD Research revealed that in May 2008, 40% of potential voters viewed on-line videos about candidates. Results from a recent, post election survey released today indicated that 52% of respondents reported that they viewed on-line videos. In addition, there was a 35% increase in the number of women who reported that they watched the candidates’ videos.

Two-thirds of voters reported that they expected candidates to use email communications as part of their campaigns. Particularly striking is the growth of the unofficial campaign, with 45% of respondents reporting that they forwarded links or email about political issues to friends and family.

Furthermore, more than half of the respondents indicated that they received an email from friends or family about politics. For those who voted early, the official web site was almost as attention getting as a television or cable advertisement.

Download the report The Rise of On-Demand Political Campaigns: E-Voter Institute 2008 Post-Election Findings. E-Voter Institute Post-Election-Findings-01-22-09

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Mike Connell

Michael Connell, top Republican IT consultant, killed when Piper Supercub he was piloting crashed 3 miles short of an Akron Airport.

While we celebrate the success of the Internet by the Obama campaign, the news of Michael Connell’s untimely death was a shock.

Mike was a prominent GOP Internet consultant when he perished in a fiery plane crash yesterday.  http://www.ohio.com/news/36486224.html

A flood of memories came back to me from the earliest days of the E-Voter Institute when Mike stood out as someone who really understood how political campaigns were changing and how powerful the Internet could be.

I saw this news first on my facebook page in a post from a friend minutes after it happened.  Somehow that seems fitting.

Mike’s wife Heather and the family have asked that all donations be directed to the Mike Connell Scholarship Fund for the benefit of his four beautiful children.  http://www.eDonations.com/MikeConnell is where you can give online or find an address to send a check or notes.

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E-Voter Institute and HCD Research Conduct Post Election Survey

Not content with our annual survey of voter expectations this year, E-Voter Institute and HCD Research conducted a follow up survey of voter expectations the day after the election.  We received 3,500 responses and this time we know if who voted and if they voted early.  Still working on the analysis but we see big jumps in interest by voters in Internet tools for learning about candidates and causes.  Results will be released before the Inauguration.

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Targeting Women Voters

E-Voter Institute Report looks more specifically at the women who represented 70% of the group of responders to the 3rd Annual Survey of Voter Expectations.

Comparisons between genders on Internet activity, political activism, and interest in news sources is augmented by details about the women by age, membership in social networks, and party affiliation.  Surveys conducted with the support of HCD Research, with analysis from Chris Borick, Muhlenberg College.

Of those women 18-24, 92% use email, 85% expect candidates to have a web site, and 68% expect candidates to post their television ads on the official site.

Of those women 55-64, 96% use email, 86% expect candidates to have a web site, and 64% expect candidates to post their television ads on the official site.

Surprised at how similar the expectations are regardless of age?

Looking at party affiliation, of women self-identified as Democrats, 94% use email, 89% expect candidates to have a web site, and 73% forward links  and email to friends and family.  Of those women self-identified as Republicans, 94% use email, 87% expect candidates to have a web site, and 73% forward links to friends and family.

Tough to tell the difference.

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