Constituency Campaigning in the Age of Data

Abstract

This paper examines how Canadian constituency campaigns perceive and use data in elections. We apply a conceptual framework for data-driven campaigning, developed from existing literature, to participant observations and interview responses from the Conservative, Liberal and NDP campaigns in a single riding during the general election of 2015. The rhetoric of “big data” notwithstanding, we find significant variation in the extent and nature of the use of data at the constituency level, and that the increasing use of data in electioneering may have a centralizing effect on traditionally stratarchical political party organization.

Data-driven campaigning and democratic disruption: Evidence from six advanced democracies

“…Evidence from Germany and the Netherlands suggests that parties often lack the capacity (discussed further below) to experiment and test campaign interventions within an election period, meaning that little testing occurs. Even in places where testing is common, our analysis suggested that parties’ capacity to utilise these insights was limited, with evidence from Canada showing that parties frequently failed to review this data to monitor or evaluate campaign interventions (Munroe and Munroe, 2018). Whilst parties are therefore often interested in exploring the potential of testing the effectiveness of messages, to date these practices are not being as widely employed as is often assumed.…”

“…Studies examining the effect of DDC on organisations such as parties have been sparse. Some scholars focus on data as a resource that has organisational consequences for campaigning (Munroe and Munroe, 2018: 8–9). Whilst by no means novel (Hersh, 2015; Kreiss and Howard, 2010), new forms of data are seen to allow parties to make cost efficient decisions, (Kreiss, 2016), to improve communication attempts and to support ‘the organisation and evaluation of a campaign’ (Dobber et al, 2017; Kruschinski and Haller, 2017).…”

States of computing: On government organization and artificial intelligence in Canada

“…Adopting a mix of “GOTV (get out the vote) techniques, small-gift fundraising, and […] social media” (Trudeau, 2014a: 259), Trudeau presented the image of a highly participative, decentralized campaign, which allegedly mirrored “the new networked nature of modern political movements” (Trudeau, 2014a: 240). As documented by Munroe and Munroe (2018), however, the Trudeau campaign also centered on a predictive approach that specifically targeted likely Liberal converts in key ridings. 19 Ultimately, JT won a majority government with the second-lowest percentage of the popular vote in Canadian history.…”

On the edge of glory (…or catastrophe): regulation, transparency and party democracy in data-driven campaigning in Québec

“…Moreover, to our knowledge, studies on this subject in a sub-national context are few. In Canada, the majority of the work focuses on federal parties (see for example Bennett, 2018;McKelvey and Piebiak, 2018;Munroe and Munroe, 2018;Patten, 2015Patten, , 2017Thomas, 2015), leaving provincial and municipal levels behind (with the notable exception of Carlile, 2017;Yawney, 2018;and Giasson et al, 2019). Thus, the French-speaking jurisdiction represents, as Giasson et al (2019, p. 3) argue, one of those relevant but "less obvious" cases to study in order to better understand the similarities and differences in why and how political parties adopt or resist technological innovations.…”

“…Furthermore, as Hersh indicates (2015), cultural and legal contexts influence political actors' behaviour because types of data that are made available to campaigns shape their perceptions of voters, and therefore their communication practices. According to Munroe and Munroe (2018), political parties may use data as a resource generated in many ways that can be used to guide strategic and tactical decisions. Because parties set up integrated platforms in which personal data on voters are stored and analysed, ethical and political issues emerge (Bennett, 2013(Bennett, , 2015.…”