Poll: 35% Of Americans Get Election Info Online

Fewer than half of all Americans who consider themselves likely voters say they will turn to the Internet to stay informed on election news, according to an Associated Press and AOL News poll.

The poll, released Friday, suggested that some 35 percent of Americans, or 43 percent of likely voters, go online for election information.

More than half, 51 percent, of those who describe themselves as liberals are more likely to obtain election information from the Internet compared with 42 percent of moderates and 39 percent of conservatives, according to the AP/AOL News poll.

The poll also found nearly a quarter, 24 percent, of respondents who spy the Net for political news indicated they have accessed a blog during this election season. About 10 percent of Internet users have accessed a message board, chat room or blog to participate in election discussions.

Indeed, the number of blogs since the previous election season has grown considerably, but voters are taking a cautious approach about the information found online.

In its "State of the Blogosphere," August 2006 report, Technorati claims the worldwide blogosphere has doubled every six months for the last three years, or 175,000 new blogs per day.

The AP/AOL News poll was conducted by Ipsos, an international public opinion company, where 2,000 adults and 970 likely voters were interviewed by telephone from Oct. 23-25.