Angela Whistler

First Name: 
Angela
Last Name: 
Whistler
Mentor: 
Dr. Tom Miles
Abstract: 
How is social media impacted voter participation rates within the United States over the past 3 election cycles? Does it influence political involvement, especially for historical groups of low turnout rates? Or does is act as new-age disenfranchisement that dissuades action and trust? We analyzed how candidates in 2014, 2016, and 2018 transformed political methodology and campaign strategies and saw how social media is transforming common techniques such as grass rooting and placing it on a virtual stage. By using the United States voter turnout statistics, voting age-group trends, and social media tactics used, we see how these are transforming the new age of global politics through instantaneous interaction with information through trend analysis and comparison of voter’s turnout rates in each election to political activities across Facebook and Twitter, focusing and comparing various voting demographics such as age, race, gender, and education levels, and it’s impact on the 2020 election.
Poster: 
Election Transformation in 280 Characters or Less: Social Media’s Double-Edged Power and Transformat