Local political parties are more likely to use Facebook than websites to connect with voters.

Local political parties are an important part of US politics, as they are often the best placed to mobilize voters and to recruit and support candidates. But how do these groups interact with voters online? In new research Lee Hannah and co-authors looked at the online presence of local parties across the US’ more than 3,100 counties. They found that while fewer than half of county parties had websites, more than two thirds had a presence on Facebook, and that this percentage was even higher for parties based in more urban and more electorally competitive counties.