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Digital Democracy

Digital Democracy. Haejin Yun. Political Campaign. 1994 About 40 candidates nationwide had email addresses; a few candidates put up websites. 1996 More than 170 candidates had websites.

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Digital Democracy

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  1. Digital Democracy Haejin Yun

  2. Political Campaign • 1994 • About 40 candidates nationwide had email addresses; a few candidates put up websites. • 1996 • More than 170 candidates had websites. • A significant percentage of the winners were Net savvy: one-third of the first-time winners for the House & a half for the Senate • Bob Dole at the first presidential debate publicized www.dolekepm96.org; Put up his campaign site earlier than Bill Clinton • The emergence of measurable support online for third-party candidates: Harry Browne (Libertarian), Ross Perot (Reform) • Mark Warner: Supporters’ network to rebut attacks against Mark Warner • 1998 • Of the 1, 296 candidates, 43 percent put up websites. • Jesse Ventura won the governorship of Minnesota thanks to his Internet-based campaign.

  3. The Internet and My vote Pew Internet & American Life Project 1996 2000 • Ever go online for election news? General public 4% 18% Online users 22% 33% • Why go online for election news? Convenience 45% 56% Not enough info. By other media 53% 29% • Did online election news affect vote choice? Yes 31% 43% • Internet users tend to be more active, and get more representative of the general population.

  4. Online Voting • The California task force on online voting convened by Secretary of Sate Bill Jones March in 1999; The Mason County allowed online voting in May 1999. • The Defense Dept. & The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP)  Overseas absentee voting in 2000 • Pros • Cut administration costs • Prevent voter fraud by reducing absentee votes • Convenience • Increase voter turn-out • Attract young voters • Cons • Digital Divide • Technical obstacles • Hacking while voters are unaware of it. • High initial cost • Inconvenience not a major reason of low turnout. • Lose the sense of personal involvement in democracy.

  5. Online Polling • Harris Interactive in 1998 • Accurately predicted the winners in twenty-one of twenty two elections • Larger sample sizes than traditional telephone-based polling (12,000 vs. 1,000) • No “non-response” problem • Cons • Digital Divide: not include those who do not own computers • Lack of random sampling: No random sampling technique for the Internet developed yet • Online users are more politically active even though the other demographics are similar. • Different partisan skewness: 35% D, 29% R, 28% I in the general public; 34% I, 31% D, 29% R among online users

  6. Online Fundraising • 1st online PAC (Political Action Committee) in March 1995 for Newt Gingrich: Website titled “NewtWatch” • Bill Bradley • The Federal Election Commission: No matching funds for credit card donation. • Made a plea  the FEC allowed it in late May 1999 • More than $1.2 million by the end of 1999 • John McCain • More than $3 million online after New Hampshire primary • Young donors: Half of them were first-time donors & 60 percent of these first donors were younger than 44. • Small donations between $10 to 50$  Online fundraising holds much promise for attracting thousands of so-called small donors.

  7. Online Grass-root Organizing • The 1986 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) • 1980 to 1985: 7,000 accidents involving hazardous chemicals, 140 people killed and 4,700 people injured • The Congress added the EPCRA to the Superfund (hazardous waste cleanup) law • Section 313: No federal law before EPCRA had ever required that government information be made accessible online to the public.

  8. Online Grass-root Organizing • The Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR) in 1993 • Malamud: “Geek of the Week” and The Internet Multicasting Service • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): launched an electronic database “EDGAR” • The National Science Foundation (NSF): Grant for a pilot project to Malamud to put EDGAR online • EDGAR online in 1995

  9. Online Grass-root Organizing • Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW) and the Communication Decency Act (CDA) • Safdar; Founder of VTW in 1994; invented two tools for Net-based activism, online alerts and electronic petitions • CDA passed in 1995  An anti-censorship coalition including VTW organized to nullify the Act. • Used online alerts, electronic petitions, “Internet Day of Protest,” “Turn Your Web Pages Black” protest • Both houses of Congress passed the CDA in 1996 • The Supreme Court reject the CDA in June, 1997: “The law unconstitutionally undermined the free-speech rights of adults protected by the First Amendment.” Reno V. ACLU

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