As of August 2008, just under one in five (18%) Americans had contributed money to a political candidate, party or other political organization or cause. Among these political donors, more than two-thirds (69%) made a contribution solely through offline means—over the phone, by mail, or in person. Three in ten went online to make a political donation—15% donated money only over the internet, while an additional 15% donated both online and offline. Put another way, 7% of internet users (representing 6% of all adults) made an online political contribution by the summer of 2008.
In our August sample, Democrats and Republicans were equally likely make a political contribution—23% of Republicans and 24% of Democrats did so. However, Democratic donors were far more likely than their Republican counterparts to donate money over the internet. In total, 39% of Democrats who donated money this election cycle did so online, compared to 18% of Republicans. Indeed, fully 21% of Democrats who donated money this election cycle did so only online. Just 4% of Republican donors relied exclusively on the internet to make political contributions.
