1. Political Databases

2.  Political databases (also known as voter databases) are utilized by political candidates and parties at all levels of the campaign process

3. Uses  Fundraising – mail/telephone calls  Recruitment - volunteers  Issue tracking  Get Out The Vote (GOTV) – Increase voter identification  Basically, it increases volunteer efforts and information feedback

4. Help America Vote Act (HAVA)  Passed in 2002 to solve problems from the 2000 election  “Written with the aim of establishing uniform voting requirements in federal elections and the updating of voting technology across the different states (Thernstrom)”  Including a clause that mandated each state compile a registered voter database by 2006

5.  The state’s registered voter databases are then sold at varying prices  Each state’s databases differ in terms of the information included, certain restrictions, how much they are sold for, and to whom

6.  Companies buy the databases and often merge them with other information and databases to sell to parties and campaigns.  At this level they usually include information on which candidate they are most likely to vote for, and/or who they have voted for in the past

7. Where does the info come from?  Mostly from “public information” sources that can be bought (legally).  Census  Field workers  Consumer polls

8. GOP’s Voter Vault  Began use in 2002  Information on an “estimated” 168 million voters  Compiled mostly in India  Uses a point system to determine which party each voter is most likely to vote for  This point system also helps to determine which voters may be easily swayed

9. DPG’s VoteBuilder  Signed with Voter Activation Network (VAN) in 2007 to create their “nationwide voter profile”.  Similar (in use) to Voter Vault  Also helps keep campaign workers in touch and on the same page throughout each state and the country  Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook, is highly involved  It is generally believed “to be playing catch up” with Voter Vault

10.  http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/11/01/172222.php http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/11/01/172222.php  http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/dnc_announces _c.php http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/dnc_announces _c.php  http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/obamas- secret-w.html http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/obamas- secret-w.html  http://www.voteractivationnetwork.com/service.asp http://www.voteractivationnetwork.com/service.asp  http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/30139/may_ the_best_database_win_a_look_at_the_voter_files_p owering_the_08_race http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/30139/may_ the_best_database_win_a_look_at_the_voter_files_p owering_the_08_race