Selective Exposure and Impact of a Cyber Election Campaign on Voting Behaviors: U.S. Presidential Election 2000.

This paper examines factors that determine voters' exposure to candidates' campaign Web sites and the Web's possible effects on voting behavior in the Presidential Election 2000. A two-wave panel survey of college students was conducted. The study has documented two major findings: (1) a potential for Web sites to enhance the probability of voting turnout, and (2) respondents' tendency of selective exposure toward preferred candidate Web sites. The first major finding provided empirical evidence contrary to what had been found in the previous studies, i.e., the online media were predictors for voting turnout while the traditional media were not. The second major finding also includes evidence that the degree of preference for a candidate corresponded to the degree of selective exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]