ABSTRACT
In contemporary American politics, data on voters has become a valuable asset. Candidates ask sophisticated questions about their constituencies: where are the voters needed to build a winning coalition? How many voters are “persuadable” in the sense that they are dissatisfied with their own party and willing to vote for candidates of the competing party? Are core supporters in need of a “nudge” to help stay with the team, and where are these voters in the district or state? In an age of expanding technological options, candidates are turning to an army of data experts to mine the available lists of voters to find every possible vote. It is this development in American elections that is the focus of this chapter.
