Technology’s influence on politics The way we receive and perceive news has changed throughout the years along with technology. The advancement of technology over the past few years is staggering. Since the mid 1900s, there has been a vast number of technological discoveries and improvements. To a number of people, technology has had negative effects and has ruined many parts of our lives; but to other people, technological advancements have made various things easier and has made people more efficient. Because of technological advances, the way we receive news has also changed. Previously, most people got their news in the form of paper. They would have a newspaper at their door every morning and learn about current events via the paper. …show more content…
The 2000 presidential election was and still is very controversial because of the “obsolete voting equipment—including hanging chads and butterfly ballots” (The Atlantic, 2015). The election was named a “national election trauma.” Today’s voting technology has a reputation of being crappy because it is constantly breaking down. Making the registering and voting process accessible online would be very beneficial to many people as it would be easier for them to vote. Although many states allow people to register online, the majority (60 percent) do not. Also, allowing people to vote online would make it easier for many people who do not have the time to go out ad vote, vote. Many people foresee registering and voting online to happen …show more content…
In 2007, President Barack Obama launched a very successful social media campaign that helped him beat Clinton, and then eventually John McCain (New York Times, 2008). The Obama campaign created “an unforeseen force to raise money, organize locally, fight smear campaigns and get out the vote that helped them topple the Clinton machine and then John McCain and the Republicans.” The 2008 election was the first election where every candidate reached out to people through social media (US News, 2008). Facebook cofounder, Chris Hughes, was able to help President Barack Obama and have his campaign soar. As expected, because of President Barack Obama’s Facebook campaign he reached out to the youth and they were all part of the reason he went on to become our President. Obama has changed the game when it comes to campaigning online. He was able to strategically run his campaign with the help from others while his rivals such as Hillary Clinton and John McCain were not on his
Many of them campaigned for Barack Obama, harnessing the power of the internet to cultivate new online communities and to disseminate the message of change that he espoused and many of the young embraced. Just before delivering his acceptance speech in Chicagos Grant Park, president-elect sent bulk email to his young-adult supporters, a fitting communiqué for this technologically advanced generation.” We just made history.” he
American citizens shall be able to make use of all technology available to digitally track their vote for the president of the United States.
Even with all the technology we have, we still have an electoral college to represent us. Having this technology, citizens can represent themselves, and then the president would win the election by a majority vote. The candidates would receive a true number of votes straight from the people, instead of from representatives. Any citizen that is registered to vote could go to a website and cast their own vote, and at the end of the election each person will know that their vote truly stood for something. They would know that their vote was an actual factor in deciding who the president is; therefore, this gives power back to the
Technology, and the advancement thereof, tends to kindle a wide range of emotions among the general population. If you ask a younger individual, they may tell you it’s the best thing to happen to society, fostering knowledge, health, and connectedness; older individuals may view it as the decline of humanity or degradation of personal privacy. Either way you choose to perceive technology, it’s undoubtedly had an unquantifiable impact on every aspect of our lives. Of these facets of life, the world of politics, specifically, has been flipped upside down, arguably, for the better.
The long lines at the end of the work day are exhausting and many people don’t want to suffer through it. Another thing that can be done is allowing election sites to be open to anybody, not just subject to those residing in a certain area. Many people find it difficult to get to a voting booth if they live in one place and work in a completely different area. Registering to vote is also a hassle. Luckily, now when getting or renewing a license, one can register to vote, but it still is something that could be done online.
Technology has changed our lives in more ways than we can possibly write down. It has changed our lives more than we have even realized. The biggest impact that technology has had on the power of the presidency is the way the information spreads. Social media sites have made politics more accessible for many Americans to voice their own thoughts, whether negative or positive. The internet has had an huge impact on the presidential campaigns as well. The social networking sites have always played a powerful role in politics. The candidates can use social media sites as an advantage in order to speak to their voters by direct message. Social media tools including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and the television have dramatically changed how political campaigns are run and how Americans react to election offices.
Shifting from partisan elections to nonpartisan elections will eliminate part of the political barriers that are faced in Texas. A unique way Texas could make voting broader is by allowing the option to vote online. While voting online has never been done, it can make it tremendously less stressful for people to cast their vote. In addition to making these deviations in Texas, it would be beneficial if Texas would be more unbiased when drawing district
After seeing many problems in the U.S. democracy, the major issue would be the amount non-voters in the U.S. This is an issue that is gradually affecting the political process in the U.S. especially in the present election right now. The reason that non-voters are a concern would be because citizens are not contributing to their political engagement, which causes votes to only come from one specific area. There are various types of ways to address the amount political engagement for individuals. For example, government officials can “eliminate voting barriers, boost registration, and improve unions”(McElwee, 2014). One way to improve the issue of non-voters would be to make voting simple and allow people to vote online because we are a country
In 2000 Riverside County California decided to spend 14 million dollars to make their voting system all electronic. This decision was made on the basis that in 1998 more than one million dollars was spent on paper ballots (in Riverside), but when only half of the county voted the extras had to be trashed. For local elections their new electronic system fetched a 99% approval rating from voters (Wired.com article). The only foreseeable downside to this technology is the start up price and with internet voting not likely due to security issues, this maybe the best solution.
In favor of using electronic voting ballots, some citizens in the U.S.A feel electronic voting machines help more people vote more easily. In 2003 97% of voters of different ages, races, and physical ability said they had no trouble using the machines. A 2006 poll in Utah returned almost the same result. Even voters of different languages can smoothly adapt from using the electronic voting machines over the paper ballots. Since the costs of printing is high the many different languages are limited for the paper ballots, so without EVMs voters who do not read english well have to ask the poll workers for help making privacy impossible. Citizens also agree with using EVMs over paper ballots because they are safe. They aren't connected to the internet, where hacking often occurs, so they can't be tampered with. Voters with security questions do not need to worry. They capture votes electronically and store them in
Media is known as the “king maker” for many reasons, such as shaping candidates in audience’s perspective. Television has been a big influence in shaping voters choice and labeling political parties, even though some believe media information can be scant in regards to candidates. Media can be anything from television to social media networks and how many people think that media is a great influence, some also think it can be a problem. “It only takes 140 characters to damage a political campaign” in which Smith is referring to social media as being a problem. (Smith, K. 2011. Pg. 9) At the state and local levels party affiliation remains the most important. “In television age, journalist became the chief influence in the selection of candidates
Referred to as the “Facebook election” the 2008 US presidential election, and the lesser-known 2007 election campaign of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, dubbed 'Kevin 07 ', set a precedent as to how one could use the dynamic and ever-growing platform of social media to their electoral advantage. It is pertinent to note that Chris Hughes, one of the co-founders of Facebook, was among Barack Obama 's key strategists. Though quite older than the average Facebook user, Obama captured the youth vote, having around 2 million supporters on Facebook, with his Republican rival John
The following themes will be used to provide background for the documentary, post truth, the spectacle, media and finally focussing on the social media giant twitter. These are the most prevalent topics when it comes to researching the recent American election, and will be explored and discussed through the literature review.
Between 1960 and today, there have been many milestones in mass media and the way it has been presented to us. In the 1960’s television sets were becoming very popular in many households across America. The first televised presidential debate took place on September 26, 1960. “1963: Polls show more Americans report that they rely on television rather than newspapers as their primary source for news.” (“1963: Polls show…” PBS, n.d.) With the television becoming the new medium for people to gain information, this was a major milestone in how information was gathered and perceived. Also in the 1960’s the first stages of development of the internet began. Early computers were also being produced. This had set the stage for upcoming years in technology that would affect the experience of presidential elections by all.
Over the years the media has made citizens major role players in politics. Ross Perot opened eyes by putting the 1992 Election in the media and thereby allowing voters to become directly involved in politics. The Internet, the new form of mass media “has turned into a major political and media industry” (Grossman 16). Because of the rise the Internet has taken, the idea of direct democracy has risen. The foundation of direct democracy is in self-government. The claim is that the presence of the Internet will increase citizens’ involvement in political issues by allowing them access to more information. This is significant because it takes a look at the impact of technology on society and politics, as well by