More Voters Get Election News from Net

Television and newspapers are still the most popular sources of election information for US voters, but the Internet is making strides toward catching up, according to a poll by the The Pew Research Center.

The survey found that during the 1998 US national election campaigns, 16 percent of US voters accessed the Internet for information regarding the elections. This compares to 10 percent in 1996. Six percent of voters cited the Internet as the primary source of election information, up from three percent in 1996.

Newspapers and television were each used by 72 percent of voters for gathering information. Most of those who used television said they got most of their election news from local television resources.

Younger voters are more likely to use the Internet, the study found. Twenty-eight percent of voters in the 18-29 age group said they used the Internet for election news, and 22 percent of voters in the 30-49 age age group used the Net.

Earlier this year, ActivMedia found that two-thirds of Americans would like the option to cast their vote over the Internet.

The Pew Center’s findings were based on a telephone survey of US voters before and after the November elections.