Social media killing the secret ballot?

November 07, 2012 02:05

Caitlin Dewey on Washington Post blog: One of every five registered voters will share how they voted online, according to a new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The report, "Social Media and Voting,' also found that nearly a third of registered voters have been encouraged to vote one way or the other by contacts on Facebook or Twitter '" a number that rises among voters under 30.

If that sounds like a lot of tweets and Facebook posts, you're right. The word "election' has appeared in more than 1.5 million tweets today alone, according to Topsy, and in the past 24 hours, both President Obama and Mitt Romney's names have been tweeted several million times.

The Twitter popularity of the presidential debate in Denver '" 10 million tweets in 90 minutes '" even has some pundits speculating that today's election could be the most-tweeted event of all time. On Facebook, 2.8 million people in the United States have shared they're voting today, and the number is climbing.

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