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.
– 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 thirdparty candidates: Harry Browne (Libertarian), Ross
The Internet and My vote
Pew Internet & American Life Project
1996
• Ever go online for election news?
General public
Online users
2000
4%
22%
18%
33%
• Why go online for election news?
Convenience
Not enough info. By
other media
45%
56%
53%
29%
• Did online election news affect vote choice?
Yes
31%
43%
• Internet users tend to be more active, and get more
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
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
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 &
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.
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
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.”