Many who were active online during the campaign expect to remain involved with the Obama Administration and promote his policies to others

Voters expect that the level of public engagement they experienced with Barack Obama during

the campaign, much of it occurring online, will continue into the early period of his new

administration. A majority of Obama voters expect to carry on efforts to support his policies and

try to persuade others to back his initiatives in the coming year; a substantial number expect to

hear directly from Obama and his team; and a notable cohort say they have followed the

transition online.

These are the key findings of a new survey about public interest in the presidential transition

process and voters’ intentions to carry on the national conversation about the incoming

administration:

62% of Obama voters expect that they will ask others to support the policies of the

new administration over the next year. Among Obama voters who were engaged

online during the campaign, 25% expect to support the administration’s agenda by

reaching out to others online.

46% of Obama voters and 33% of McCain voters expect to hear directly from their

candidate or party leaders over the next year. Fully 51% of online Obama supporters

expect some kind of ongoing communication from the new administration—34% of

Obama-supporting email users expect email communication, 37% of social network

site users expect SNS updates, and 11% of phone texters expect to receive text

messages from the new administration.

27% of wired Obama voters have gone online to learn about or get involved with the

presidential transition process.1 Nine percent of online McCain voters have visited

websites hoping to rebuild the GOP or elect conservative candidates in the future.

Wired Obama Voters and the Online Transition

Percentage of online Obama voters (i.e. those who use the internet

and voted for Obama on election day) within each group who have

visited a website affiliated with the presidential transition or gone

online to discuss or get information about the transition process

All online Obama voters 27%

Sex

Men 28%

Women 25

Race/Ethnicity

White (non-Hispanic) 25%

Black (non-Hispanic) 31

English-speaking Hispanics **

Education

High school grad 27%

Some college 28

College grad 27

Annual Household Income

Less than $30,000 26%

$30,000-$49,999 21

$50,000-$74,999 32

$75,000 or more 33

Age

18-29 33%*

30-49 31

50-64 19

65+ 9*

Online Campaign Engagement

Online political user 33%

Go online, not online political user 4

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project 2008 Post-Election Survey, Novem