Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Voters will be confronted with a near-record number of citizen-generated questions at the polling place Nov. 7. The questions range from the politically explosive – such as whether to ban gay marriage and abortion – to the quirky, such as whether to let grocery stores in Massachusetts sell wine.
The vast divide between voters who intend to vote Democratic and Republican on November 7 extends well beyond matters of opinion. These voters also see the world quite differently.
Public doubts about the accuracy of the vote count may have some significant consequences on election day. The problem is much on the minds of some political operatives who worry that it may discourage voting among some constituencies.
Political fund-raising, campaigning, blogging and YouTubing are all on the rise, but they’re still a small part of the election scene.
That’s the percentage of voters who say there has been more mud-slinging and negative campaigning this year compared with recent elections. On the eve of the previous midterm, just 51% said that campaign was marred by more mud-slinging, while 52% expressed that view shortly before the 1998 midterms.
That’s the tiny percentage of Americans who, going into this week’s elections, said they had heard a lot about the concern among some politicians and political experts over the lack of competitiveness in U.S. elections. And while 71% of voters in districts with competitive House elections said the race was close in their district, a majority of voters (55%) in non-competitive districts also thought their local House races were shaping up to be close.
Problems with exit polls affected the last three election cycles and wreaked havoc with media coverage of the 2000 and 2004 presidential balloting. With the crucial 2006 midterm election upon us, exit pollsters hope they’ve resolved those troubling issues. What is the status of the poll?
More than a third or 35% of online adults create content online, and 57% of teenagers 12-17 make their own content to post to the Web. Younger users and home broadband users are the most avid content creators, and most post their creations online …
Is the internet the lever for direct democracy? Or is it a wedge for political polarization? An assessment of the first 10 years of online politics.
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