Voting and political information gathering on paper and online.

Electronic voting is slowly making its way into American politics. At the same time, more voters and potential voters are using online news and political information sources to help them make voting choices. We conducted a mock-voting study, using real candidates, issues, and campaign materials. Political information was browsed either online or on paper, and participants marked electronic ballots either while they browsed or later, in a separate step. Our initial data shows that voters prefer electronic browsing although they are no faster or slower with paper materials. Voters felt that they understood the issues best when they voted during browsing, and they felt most confident about their decisions when they studied electronic campaign materials alongside an active electronic ballot.