2026 Voting Information Trends Research Methods

Back to the 2026 Voting Information Trends Dashboard

The Shorenstien Center’s 2026 Voting Information Trends dashboard displays data from the National Internet Observatory, analyzed and visualized by the Shorenstein Center research team. This page details the methodology for gathering the data, and for filtering and displaying relevant data from the NIO database for this database.

Methodology

The National Internet Observatory (NIO) is an NSF-funded research infrastructure that collects data from consenting U.S. adults through a browser extension installed on participants’ desktop or laptop computers. The extension records browsing activity, which can be linked to participants’ self-reported demographic characteristics and is made available to approved researchers through a privacy-preserving data access framework.

The data collected for this dashboard records the websites participants visited through desktop browsing and whether at least one of 197 voting-related keywords and phrases (e.g., “voter registration,” “mail-in ballot”; see lists below) appeared on each page in the period of data collection. To reduce false matches, we also identified 36 negative matches (e.g. “mail-in voting data”). For example, “mail-in voting” would count as a match, while “mail-in voting data” would not. Based on the website URL, we are also able to detect search queries and whether a voting-related keyword is included. Websites with adult content or for surveys or sweepstakes are automatically considered not to have voting information.

We excluded participants with browsing limited to survey websites or fewer than two distinct browsing days. Since NIO uses non-probability recruitment, we apply NIO-provided weights based on age, gender, income, and education. The weights approximate the population of U.S. adults with internet access who are not mobile-only internet users, representing approximately 85% of U.S. adults.

Website categories, such as news, social media, government, and academic websites, were identified by matching website domains against several existing datasets and domain lists. We supplemented and refined these classifications where needed. Sources include:

• Government websites :Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency list of .gov domains
• Academic journals and repositories:OpenAlex Sources
• Adult-content websites:Bon-Appetit: List of Domains with Adult Content
• General website classifications:>How American Spend Their Time Online (Lazer et al.,2026)
• Campaign and political party websites:Politics1
• AI-related websites: AIToolBuzz AI Tools Dataset
• Civic organizations: researcher-compiled list of civic organization domains (see below)
• Think tanks: researcher-compiled list of think tank domains (see below)

Several limitations should be considered. NIO participants are recruited through non-probability methods, so weighting may not fully eliminate selection bias. Participants can opt out of tracking through incognito browsing, and the extension is not intended for work computers, meaning the data primarily reflect personal desktop browsing rather than total internet use. The data also do not capture activity that occurs outside the browser, including through desktop and mobile applications such as social media apps and coding agents. Finally, the sample is restricted to adults and therefore does not capture browsing by minors.

Civic organization websites:

vote.org

vote411.org

lwv.org

rockthevote.org

votesmart.org

usvotefoundation.org

us.vote

voteamerica.org

voteriders.org

headcount.org

whenweallvote.org

nationalvoterregistrationday.org

turbovote.org

democracy.works

ballotready.org

ballotpedia.org

fairvote.org

commoncause.org

represent.us

issueone.org

protectdemocracy.org

verifiedvoting.org

campaignlegal.org

statesuniteddemocracy.org

democracyforward.org

uniteamerica.org

nationalcivicleague.org

ncoc.org

aclu.org

naacp.org

naacpldf.org

civilrights.org

lawyerscommittee.org

naleo.org

votolatino.org

apiavote.org

blackvotersmatterfund.org

colorofchange.org

advancementproject.org

latinojustice.org

maldef.org

splcenter.org

civicnation.org

indivisible.org

moveon.org

peoplesaction.org

communitychange.org

workingfamilies.org

faithinpubliclife.org

hiphopcaucus.org

mijente.net

citizen.org

plannedparenthood.org

plannedparenthoodaction.org

reproductivefreedomforall.org

emilyslist.org

supermajority.com

now.org

studentsforlife.org

hrc.org

glaad.org

thetaskforce.org

lambdalegal.org

transgenderlawcenter.org

victoryfund.org

lulac.org

unidosus.org

nativevote.org

ndncollective.org

everytown.org

momsdemandaction.org

bradyunited.org

giffords.org

nraila.org

gunowners.org

saf.org

firearmspolicy.org

sierraclub.org

lcv.org

nrdc.org

edf.org

350.org

sunrisemovement.org

earthjustice.org

greenpeace.org

foe.org

unitedwedream.org

defineamerican.com

immigrantjustice.org

nilc.org

americanimmigrationcouncil.org

fwd.us

raicestexas.org

aarp.org

afphq.org

heritageaction.com

clubforgrowth.org

turningpointaction.com

conventionofstates.com

ourrevolution.com

swingleft.org

sisterdistrict.com

actionnetwork.org

mobilize.us

change.org

actblue.com

winred.com

anedot.com

allin.vote

slsvcoalition.org

votersoftomorrow.org

allianceforyouthorganizing.org

younginvincibles.org

massvote.org

democracync.org

newgeorgiaproject.org

fairfight.com

powercoalition.org

floridarrc.com

texascivilrightsproject.org

movetexas.org

chicagovotes.com

civicnebraska.org

mifamiliavota.org

onearizona.org

statevoices.org

allvotingislocal.org

fair-elections-center.org

nonprofitvote.org

neweracolorado.org

mississippivotes.org

promotethevotemi.com

voting.works

ceir.org

Think tanks websites:

brookings.edu

heritage.org

cato.org

aei.org

americanprogress.org

urban.org

rand.org

csis.org

cfr.org

carnegieendowment.org

piie.com

hoover.org

rstreet.org

niskanencenter.org

bipartisanpolicy.org

thirdway.org

manhattan.institute

cbpp.org

taxfoundation.org

epi.org

reason.org

mercatus.org

hudson.org

wilsoncenter.org

newamerica.org

gmfus.org

atlanticcouncil.org

stimson.org

migrationpolicy.org

pewresearch.org

brennancenter.org

Keyword lists:

Positive Matches:

register to vote

registered to vote

registering to vote

voter registration

election day registration

motor voter

vote reg

voter reg

change party affiliation

change my party affiliation

change your party affiliation

vote.gov

usa.gov/register-to-vote

nass.org/can-i-vote

voter lookup

voter search

voter status

voter record

my voter page

what party am i registered as

canivote.org

voterview

sample ballot

what’s on my ballot

whats on my ballot

what’s on your ballot

whats on your ballot

ballot lookup

ballot preview

see ballot

see my ballot

see your ballot

view ballot

view my ballot

view your ballot

specimen ballot

who is on my ballot

who is on your ballot

ballotpedia.org/sample_ballot_lookup

track ballot

track my ballot

track your ballot

ballot track

ballot status

where’s my ballot

wheres my ballot

ballottrax

ballot trace

ballot received

ballot accepted

ballot rejected

ballot counted

cure my ballot

ballot cure

my ballot was rejected what do i do

how to cure a rejected ballot

has my county received my ballot

absentee ballot

early voting

mail vote

mail-in ballot

mail in ballot

mail ballot

vote by mail

absentee voting

vote absentee

ballot drop box

ballot request

overseas voter

military voter

vote from abroad

mail my ballot

votefromabroad.org

voter id

can i vote

what id do i need to vote

id to vote

voter eligibility

voting eligibility

eligible to vote

who can vote

citizenship to vote

age to vote

voting age

proof of address to vote

proof of residence to vote

proof of residence voting

proof of residence for voting

proof of address voting

proof of address for voting

can felons vote

felony conviction voting

provisional ballot

curbside voting

accessible voting

voting requirement

voter requirement

do i need to be a citizen to vote

can independents vote in the primary

polling place

polling location

polling site

where do i vote

where to vote

precinct lookup

my precinct

vote center

vote location

vote place

voting location

voting place

election office

what precinct am i in

find my polling

when is election

what day election

election deadline

election date

when is the election

runoff date

ballot return deadline

election calendar

upcoming elections

how to vote

how do i vote

voting information

voter information

voting plan

plan your vote

voting options

ways to vote

voter education

voting faq

first time voter

voter resources

election information

voting for the first time

what are my options for voting

everything i need to know to vote

voting in college out of state

vote.org

usa.gov/voting

usa.gov/how-to-vote

eac.gov/voters

vote411

voteamerica

usvotefoundation

vote drop box

voting drop box

check my ballot

check your ballot

election day hours

vote in person

need to bring to vote

voting registration

voting locations

vote locations

polling locations

voting places

polling places

who’s on my ballot

who’s on your ballot

whos on my ballot

whos on your ballot

ballot got counted

voting requirements

voter requirements

requirements to vote

requirement to vote

can independents vote in primary elections

can independents vote in the primaries

what day is election

does my ballot have to be postmarked

can disabled people vote

can the disabled vote

polls close

polls open

voting precinct location

should i bring to vote

mail in vote

mail-in vote

mail-in voting

mail in voting

mail voting

overseas voting

vote overseas

get ready to vote

prepare to vote

plan to vote

ballot drop boxes

in person voting

in-person voting

voting center

vote in-person

poll times

polling station

polling stations

Negative matches:

improve voter registration

increase voter registration

voter registration research

voter registration statistics

voter registration data

automatic voter registration

voting statistics

voting data

voting results

voting turnout

voting numbers

voting statistics

voting data

voting results

voting turnout

voting numbers

voting statistics

voting data

voting results

voting turnout

voting numbers

voting statistics

voting data

voting results

voting turnout

voting numbers

voting statistics

voting data

voting results

voting turnout

voting numbers

voting statistics

voting data

voting results

voting turnout

voting numbers