A new survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project highlights an electorate increasingly reliant on mobile devices to find and exchange campaign information, and fact-check presidential candidates. Mobile devices are becoming an increasingly important channel for voters to seek out information about the political candidates and campaigns ahead of next month’s presidential election, a new survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports. According to Pew’s findings, 88 percent of registered voters have some kind of cell phone, and, of those, 27 percent say that they have used their mobile device to seek out news of politics or the campaign. More on the 2012 Election: What Tech Issues Loom Large for Election 2012? Obama and Romney Election Apps Suck Up Personal Data, Research Finds Tech Policy 2012: Comparing the Democrat’s and Republican’s Platforms Just slightly less than half of mobile phone owners said they have a smartphone, at 48 percent, and, of those, 45 percent say they had used their device to check into a social networking site to read other users’ comments about the campaign or a candidate. Eighteen percent say that they had used their smartphones to post comments about the campaign on a social networking site.Just slightly less than half of mobile phone owners said they have a smartphone, at 48 percent, and, of those, 45 percent say they had used their device to check into a social networking site to read other users’ comments about the campaign or a candidate. Eighteen percent say that they had used their smartphones to post comments about the campaign on a social networking site.Many voters are also using their smartphones to fact-check the claims of candidates or members of their campaigns. Among smartphone owners, 35 percent said they used their devices to investigate the campaigns’ assertions in real time.Three-quarters of voters with mobile phones say that they use their devices to send text messages, and 19 percent report having sent messages concerning the campaign to family members, friends or other contacts. The numbers dropped considerably when Pew asked the survey respondents about their direct engagement with players in the campaign. Only 5 percent said they had registered with a candidate or politically active group to receive messages directly from the operation, while an equal proportion reported receiving unsolicited and unwanted messages from a candidate or group. For most respondents, the unwanted messages only arrived very infrequently.And of the respondents who report owning a smartphone and using apps, just 8 percent said that they had downloaded and used an app from a candidate, party or interest group to keep up with the campaign. When the researchers considered the usage patterns of voters across the political spectrum, they found few significant differences.“There are few differences in overall mobile phone ownership and usage related to political affiliation or ideology. Democratic, Republican and independent voters are all equally likely to own a cell phone, to own a smartphone, to use text messaging, and to use or download apps,” write Aaron Smith and Maeve Duggan, the authors of the report. “However, liberal voters are more likely than conservatives to own a smartphone or to use text messaging (although liberals and conservatives are equally likely to own a cell phone of any kind).”Kenneth Corbin is a Washington, D.C.-based writer who covers government and regulatory issues for CIO.com. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline, on Facebook, and on Google +. Related content feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo news Alteryx works in generative AI for speedy analytics results OpenAI integration and AI wizardry for report generation are aimed at making Alteryx’s analytics products more accessible. By Jon Gold May 25, 2023 3 mins Analytics Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe