November 11, 2006
Wrap Up – 2006 Election on the Web
Internet activism such as viral videos, blogs, and advocacy campaigns made a huge impact on the midterm elections.
The impact of online videos were especially big. The two biggest cliff-hangers in the Senate the morning after were--you guessed it--the two senators who had the biggest gaffes exploited on YouTube. Remember Senator George Allen's "Macaca" moment? Apparently Virginia voters did and when they went to the polls they supported his opponent, Democrat Jim Webb. And Montana voters didn't take too lightly to Conrad Burns napping on their time and taxes either. John Tester defeated the incumbent by a narrow margin.
On Election Day hundreds, if not thousands, of online news outlets, advocacy sites, and political blogs were constantly updated from the first exit poll until the last race was called. This year’s voters rushed to the Internet for coverage in record numbers, far exceeding prior election years (Check out the Stat of the Week).
Bloggers also took the lead in reporting problems at the polls. Several campaigns were announced asking voters to document their Election Day experiences such as Veek and Vote and Video the Vote. There were also documented cases of voter intimidation. Erick Erickson, RedState’s chief blogger, included a report in Philadelphia, along with a link to a video on YouTube that appeared to show a certified poll observer (armed with a video camera) being blocked from a polling station.
Also, experts are saying that online campaigns may also be responsible for the record high number of young voters in this year’s election. About 24 percent of Americans under the age of 30, or at least 10 million young voters, cast ballots in Tuesday's elections that saw Democrats make big gains in Congress. That was up 4 percentage points from the last mid-term elections in 2002.
Internet activists turned out big time this year. They helped the Democrats claim their biggest win since 1980.
Blogs Take Lead in Reporting Polling Problems, With Supporting Evidence on YouTube
Young Voter Turnout Up for Second Major Election in a Row
ePolitics Post: What We Can Learn About Online Politics From the 2006 Campaign
Poynter Online Post: Election Night Innovations
Posted by Buzz Webster at November 11, 2006 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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