Voters
1
Information Needs
• Information about candidates
• Information about voting process
• (Information about policy making)
2
Information About Candidates
• Media (TV and radio, newspapers,
internet)
• Candidate sources (websites, campaign
events)
• Other Organizations (PACs, 527s)
3
Internet Coverage
• Starting with 2000 Presidential election,
and especially in 2004, the internet was
a major focus of information
presentation
• See Internet Archive of 2000
candidate’s media websites and
• http://web.archive.org/collections/e2k.html
4
Organizations
•
•
5
Political Action Committees (PACs)
527s
PACs
• Contributions from individuals is limited to
$5,000
• PACs are limited in the amount of money they
can contribute to other organizations:
– at most $5,000 per candidate per election.
– at most $15,000 per political party per year
– at most $5,000 per PAC per year
• No spending limit outside candidate
campaigns
6
Sample PACs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
7
Sierra Club
Democracy for America
MoveOn
Association of Trial Lawyers of America
National Beer Wholesalers Association
Godless Americans PAC
National Organization for Women
NORPAC
527 Organizations
• 527 refers to a section of the US tax code for
tax exempt organizations
• PACs and 527s actually both fall under
Section 527, but 527s are not regulated by
the Federal Election Commission and do not
have the same contribution limits.
• May not make expenditures to directly
advocate the election or defeat of any
candidate for federal elective office
8
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
9
MoveOn.org
10
Voting Process
• Major attention to voting after all the
problems of the 2000 election
• Increased focus on accuracy,
auditability, and recounts
11
Electronic Voting
• Benefits
– Fewer voting errors
– Faster counts
– Accessibility
• Drawbacks
–
–
–
–
12
Software error
Hardware error
Voter confidence
Tampering
Vote By Mail
• Oregon runs all elections by mail
• Voter turnout is higher (87% in Oregon
vs. 64% overall)
• Cost is lower
• Benefits and drawbacks?
13