David Lazer
The traditional view within political science of the average citizen’s knowledge of politics is grim: The average citizen knows very little about the issues of the day. However, this traditional view takes little account of citizens’ capacity to become informed when the situation demands it. A key part of the role of citizens is to engage in an active dialogue with their representatives, a dialogue that may inspire the citizen to learn about policies and inform representatives about potentially latent preferences of citizens. This research will examine the impact of “electronic town halls” between a US Senator and a large group of constituents in order to explore whether the Internet as a communications medium is a potential way for Congress to reach many people cost effectively.