ABSTRACT
In addition to surveying the online presence of the major and minor parties for their listings in major indices on the web and their links to other sites, we adapted Gibson and Ward’s coding scheme to characterize the functionality and design of the websites of parties and candidates (Gibson and Ward, 2000c). The scheme allows us to summarize information on a range of functions, such as information provision, voter participation, campaigning for electoral support, resource generation (that is, money and members), and networking with other like-minded organizations. We also examined design elements, such as the glitziness of the site in terms of multimedia use, its ease of navigation, and its freshness. We selected the websites of the parties whose candidates for the presidency appeared on the Ohio ballot in November 2000. Using the Gibson-Ward coding scheme also allowed us to make comparisons between US and UK parties (see Gibson et al., 2003). We supplemented these observations with data from questionnaires or telephone interviews conducted with state and national party officials regarding the purpose and success of online election campaigns.
