ABSTRACT
Voter mobilization received heightened attention in the midst of the 2008 presidential campaign. The media and campaign punditry were infatuated with Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s efforts to reach out to new voters via new technologies. Mark McKinnon’s view, quoted above, reflects a bit of hyperbole, but undoubtedly, future resource-rich campaigns will model many of the innovations of the Obama campaign. Obama won, voter turnout reached levels not seen for decades, and, generally speaking, Obama’s mobilization efforts seemed “to work” (see Conway (2009) for an overview). Portending the future by using language suggestive of something akin to a political realignment, Adam Nagourney of the New York Times wrote,
The size and makeup of the electorate could be changed because of efforts by Democrats to register and turn out new black, Hispanic, and younger voters. This shift may have long-lasting ramifications for what the parties do to build enduring coalitions, especially if intensive and technologically-driven voter turnout programs succeed in getting more people to the polls.
