GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- John McCain's supporters report that thousands of dollars flow into his campaign war chest every day from the candidate's web site. Most presidential campaigns make it a point to get their standard-bearer's web address on the banners behind his podium. In fact, strategists for Texas Governor George W. Bush made it a point to register as many web addresses associated with the candidate's name as possible -- just to keep them out of the hands of their critics (and opponents).
In fact, today one can do almost everything for a candidate on the web except vote -- and a couple of states are even trying that idea out during the primary season.
Is the web in fact a highly important component of the presidential election process this year? A new Gallup poll conducted February 20-21 suggests the American public may not be ready to answer that question with a "yes" just yet.
Internet Users May Still Favor Traditional Sources of
Candidate Information
To begin with, only 54% of Americans report that they have used the
Internet at home, work or school in the past 30 days -- meaning
that almost half of the public is web-inactive, and probably
excluded altogether from the candidate.com experience.
The poll asked those who did have access to the Internet about the different ways in which they have used it this year relating to the presidential campaign. Only about one in four of those who use the Internet say they have used the web to look up information on candidates. Interestingly, there is little difference among age groups in use of the web for these purposes; 21% of those over 65 have used the Internet to look up candidate information, compared to 25% of those 18-29. Another interesting note: 35% of nonwhites with Net access have looked up candidate information, compared to 21% of whites.
A slightly greater percentage of Americans (30% of Internet users) follows campaign news online.
It would seem, though, that official candidate web sites (those sponsored by the candidates themselves) are not nearly as popular -- just 11% of Internet users have visited a candidate's official web site, with the largest percentage coming among those with high levels of education and income.
E-Contributions Not a Major Factor
While many of this year's presidential candidates are offering web
surfers the chance to contribute to their campaigns online, most
Americans appear to be greeting this opportunity with a resounding
yawn. Only 1% of those with Internet access say they have donated
money to a campaign online. However, the poll does not address the
percentage of Internet users who later donated to campaigns through
more traditional means.
Does the Internet help make for more informed voters? Just 16% of Internet users say yes when asked, "All in all, do you think that the Internet is helping you be a better voter this year, or has it made little difference?" -- with the highest percentages coming from those between the ages of 18 and 29 (21%) and those with higher levels of education and income.
Survey Methods
The results reported here are based on telephone interviews
conducted February 20-21, 2000 with a randomly selected national
sample of 596 adults, 18 years and older who have used the Internet
at home, work or school within the past 30 days. For results based
on the whole sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that
the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects
is plus or minus 4 percentage points. In addition to sampling
error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting
surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public
opinion polls.
Have you personally used the Internet for the following purposes, or not? Have you used the Internet … ? (RANDOM ORDER)
BASED ON -- 596 -- INTERNET USERS; ± 4 PCT PTS
| A. To look up information about the presidential candidates | |||
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Feb 20-21 | 23% | 77 | * |
| B. To follow the news about the presidential campaign | |||
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
| 2000 Feb 20-21 | 30% | 70 | * |
| C. To donate money to a presidential candidate | |||
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
| 2000 Feb 20-21 | 1% | 99 | * |
Have you personally been to a presidential candidate's web site on the Internet, or not?
BASED ON -- 596 -- INTERNET USERS; ± 4 PCT PTS
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Feb 20-21 | 11% | 89 | * |
All in all, do you think that the Internet is helping you be a better voter this year, or has it made little difference?
BASED ON -- 596 -- INTERNET USERS; ± 4 PCT PTS
| Helping you be a better voter | 16% |
| Made little difference | 83% |
| No opinion | 1% 100% |