Cyber Campaign
2
Impact of a Cyber Election Campaign on Voting Behaviors:
U.S. Presidential Election 2000
INTRODUCTION
In the presidential election of 2000, every candidate jumped onto the online
campaign bandwagon. Online campaigning made its debut in the 1996 presidential race, but
was used only as a novelty. Some argue that online campaigning in 2000 was still a “beta
version” and did not carry substantial implications (Dickerson, 2000). While television is
said to have contributed to John F. Kennedy’s victory over Nixon in the 1960 presidential
election, the Internet has not played a crucial role in presidential elections. There is no
“J.F.K. of the Internet” yet (Reed, 1999).
Online campaigning, however, may have the potential to change the way candidates
campaign. The Internet allows candidates to communicate with voters, strengthen support,
raise funds, and recruit volunteers in ways that other media do not. Some argue that the
Internet will change the whole process of politics including election campaigns, policymaking,
and perhaps even the balance of political power in the near future (Hill & Hughes, 1998;
Morris, 1999). The composite of media channels for modern election campaigns may soon
be transformed due to the utilization of the Internet.
While the utilization of the Internet by politicians has been documented and applied
to actual campaign strategies, our understanding of how and why voters use online campaign
information is still vague. Because the Internet provides three unique features that will
empower voters, it is worth investigating online campaigning from the standpoint of the
voters. One of the unique features is that information on the Web is of the “pull” variety,
which means that the selection of online information is controlled by Web users. Users can
immediately “pull” information from online media at their convenience, while information in
newspapers and on television is “pushed” to the readers and viewers. The second feature,
Convention