Abstract: Uses of digital communication channels - including social media - for constituent outreach and mobilization by formal political players have received significant academic attention in Canada and internationally in recent years. In fact, these media tools have emerged as important communication channels between members of the Canadian public and Members of Parliament in Canada. However, little research has been done on the role and effects of language on different aspects of this dynamic. This paper unpacks this dynamic by taking interest in Canadian federal and provincial politicians’ uses of languages for digital constituent outreach and mobilization. Questions of language are especially relevant in Canada as this country is recognized by law as multicultural and bilingual. Because laws do not provide for politicians’ digital communication to be multilingual, let alone bilingual, uses of languages can be seen as a strategy to garner support in a linguistically fragmented society. First, this paper examines to what degree Canadian politicians and parties provide multilingual content in their digital communication infrastructures (official websites and select social media channels). Second, this paper identifies factors that could affect politicians’ decision to opt for multilingualism when reaching out to constituents online. Specifically, it tests correlations between politicians’ demographic and political profile (e.g. age, language, jurisdiction, party affiliation) and use of multilingualism online. Finally, this paper considers how politicians’ lack of multilingualism in the digital mediascape can limit linguistic minorities’ ability to be informed politically and, by extension, take part in the political process.

Paper / Communication

Abstract: "In the 2015 Canadian federal election, the three national parties capable of forming government waited until early October to release their full platform documents, with just two weeks remaining in the longest campaign in modern Canadian history. The full Conservative and NDP platforms appeared as late as October 9th, the first day of advanced polling. This practice continued a permanent campaign tactic from the 2008 election, where the parties tried to create media moments by announcing modular components on discrete policies, waiting to release their full platforms later. The new adaptation in the 2015 election, however, was creating party web sites that were readily interoperable with smartphones. The Liberals in particular offered two innovative tools with their platform that harnessed mobile devices: the “MyPlatform” application where one could select polices out of over 100 options, and a downloadable event selection application. Such offerings were arguably targeted to attract the younger, tech savvy voters the Trudeau campaign was hoping to activate. Using a content analysis of the party web sites, this paper first answers the question: what digital innovations appeared during the 2015 election that changed the delivery of the platforms? Second, an automated textual analysis identifies the top rhetorical issue units of the party platforms, comparing changes to the top issues against the 2011 campaign. Overall, the mobile platforms allow for increased micro-targeting of donors and potential voters' interests. The innovative MyPlatform application, however, went beyond common social media and web analytics by directly linking issues to donor information."

Paper / Communication

Abstract: In the 2015 Canadian election, a record 3.6 million voters cast their ballots early at advance polls. Early voting has been considered by scholars and election administrators in Canada, and many other parts of the world, as a potential way to increase voter turnout by making voting easier. However, there are some concerns that arise from the recent proliferation of early voting. One concern is that early voters have the same characteristics as those who are most likely to vote anyway, which suggests that rather than increasing turnout, early voting may simply provide more convenience to those who already vote. This paper therefore asks: What are the socio-demographic and attitudinal correlates of early voting, compared with election day voting?

Secondly, some research suggests that voters who do not cast their ballot at a polling location will be less likely to trust the election results, because they have no direct contact with election officials, or are concerned whether their ballot will arrive by mail and be safely stored to be counted on election day This paper therefore also asks: does early voting affect citizens’ perceptions of fairness in the election?

This paper considers four types of early voting in four advanced industrial democracies: on-demand postal voting in Germany, automatic postal voting in Switzerland, days-long advance voting in Canada, and weeks-long advance voting in Sweden. It looks at multiple elections, at both the national and regional level, using data from a variety of national and comparative election studies, providing our most comprehensive examination yet of the socio-demographic and attitudinal correlates of early voting across time, countries, regions and types of early voting.

Paper / Communication