Net Election

By the Numbers, Part 9

Slate, the Industry Standard, and washingtonpost.com join forces to examine the effect of the Internet on Campaign 2000. 

As the presidential race enters its feverish, final stretch, the Internet also has been awash in activity, from the creation and subsequent shutdown of Ralph Nader-Al Gore vote-swapping sites to constant online updates of the latest polling results and endorsements. Once again, a look at the numbers offers a snapshot of the campaign.

1. Number of weeks the Republican National Committee ran ads on the Internet and total impressions: 4, 4.5 million

2. Number of weeks the Democratic National Committee ran ads on the Internet and total impressions: 1, 8 million

3. Number of hits to NaderTrader.org, a Web site promoting trades between Al Gore and Ralph Nader votes: 429,779

4. Total tossup states listed on NaderTrader: 16

5. Total tossup states listed on ABCNews.com: 13

6. Number of Nader-Gore vote-trading Web sites: 4

7. Number of additional Nader-Gore vote-trading Web sites that shut down because of legal issues: 3

8. Percentage of Internet population that indicates it plans to vote in the 2000 Election: 88

9. Percentage of Internet population aged 50 and over that indicates it intends to vote: 96.1

10. Number of presidential polls listed on CNN.com: 83

11. Number of presidential polls on CNN.com that show Gov. George W. Bush and Gore in a dead heat: 10

12. Number of employees who work for Voter News Service, a consortium of major television networks and the Associated Press that produces exit polls on Election Day: more than 45,000

13. Number of Web sites that published Voter News Service results in the primaries before polls closed (against VNS policy): 3

14. Number of Web sites expected to publish results on Election Day before polls close: 1

15. Number of times “President Clinton” appears in a search on Gore’s Web site: 61

16. Number of times “Hillary Rodham Clinton” appears in a search on Gore’s Web site: 56

17. Number of times “President Clinton” appears in a search on Bush’s Web site: 250

18. Number of photos of President Clinton on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s official New York Senate campaign Web site: 1

19. Number of photos of White House pets on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s official New York Senate campaign Web site: 3

20. Number of newspaper endorsements listed on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Web site: 8

21. Number of newspaper endorsements listed on Rep. Rick Lazio’s official New York Senate campaign Web site: 13

22. Percentage of visitors to Bush’s Web site who are men: 64.4

23. Percentage of visitors to Gore’s Web site who are men: 58

Sources:

1-2. Media Metrix

3-4. NaderTrader.org

5. ABCNews.com

6-7. NaderTrader.org, VoteExchange.org, WinWinCampaign.com, Winchell.com/NaderTrader/, Nadergore.com, Voteswap2000.com

8-9. Media Metrix

10-11. CNN.com

12. Voter News Service

13. Brill’s Content

14. Brill’s Content/The National Review

15-16. Algore2000.com

17. GeorgeWBush.com

18-20. Hillary2000.org

21. Lazio.com

22-23. Media Metrix