E-Politics Firsts

PoliticsOnline has been monitoring innovations and firsts in the world of e-politics for more than 10 years, and now we're bringing you a list of these firsts. Did we miss something? Click here to submit a first.

Click here to see PoliticsOnline Firsts

PoliticsOnline is responsible for dozens of industry firsts and innovations including:

• August 2002: First online global poll for politics and public affairs - Netpulse Global Poll on the Environment and Sustainable Development
• September 1998: First online fundraising software for campaigns - PoliticsOnline's Instant Online Fundraiser
• September 1998: First CD-ROM on Internet and Politics - "Internet Campaign Manager" from PoliticsOnline
• 1996: First guide book on Internet and Politics - PoliticsOnline
• 1996: First and largest series of non-partisan e-mail political Internet newsletters (over 40,000 subscribers)
  -First online e-learning course for politics
  -First political super store and e-marketplace

The 2008 Democratic National Convention will be simulcast live, gavel-to-gavel in Spanish on DemConvention.com – a first for a national political convention.

Personal Democracy Forum 2008 hosts first political debate channeled via Twitter: representatives from the Obama and McCain campaigns, mediated by Ana Marie Cox of Time Magazine.

June 24: Houston Congressman John Culberson sends the first Twitter post from the Oval Office.

May 13: Yahoo! News and Politico host an interview with President George W. Bush, representing the first time the President has been interviewed on-camera exclusively for an online audience.

September: Yahoo! News teamed with Huffington Post to host the first-ever online Presidential debate.
April 10: MoveOn.org hosts the first nationwide virtual-town-hall debate featuring seven Democratic presidential candidates.

November 23: Tony Blair invited the public to SMS their comments following The Labour Party’s Political Broadcast, his last as Prime Minister.
November 4: First Political Mobile Phone Poll -Conducted by Maine Public Broadcasting
Winner: Tech Savvy Pat Lamarche, the Green Independent Gubernatorial Candidate
November 1: First Mobile Video Campaign Ad – Dick DeVos for Governor
October 5: First Mobile Campaign Website – Dick Devos for Governor <d4g.mobi>
June 26: First government official to resign via SMS to the Prime Minister - Ramos-Horta of East Timor
June: First world leader to vlog – Angela Merkel, Germany
May: First election monitored using SMS as the primary communications and reporting tool - Montenegro Referendum on Independence
February: First U.S. candidate to use on-demand advertising to reach voters - Frank Caprio, RI state treasurer candidate

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December: First French political leader to podcast - Nicholas Sarkozy
November: First candidate to include an open source "Wiki" platform on his website - Pete Ashdown (UT, 2006 Senate campaign)
October 16: First Nationwide online election - Estonia
October: First SMS vote in Switzerland
September 14: First Ever Online Global Parliamentary Hearing
August: First election coverage podcasts featuring interviews with candidates - New Zealand parliamentary election
August: First U.S. Senator to offer a podcast downloadable from his senate website - Larry Craig (R-ID)
March: First prominent political figure in the U.S. to podcast - John Edwards (D-NC)
-First world leader to podcast - Tony Blair (UK)

September 26: First country to conduct a nationwide vote over the Internet - Switzerland
September 7: First official election in the U.S. using touch-screen voting that also produced paper copies of individual votes - Nevada primary elections
July: First African-American-focused blog whose chief blogger was granted credentials to blog at a national political convention (2004 Democratic National Convention)
July: First blog for a U.S. national political convention - Democratic National Convention
July: First Convention to credential bloggers - Democratic National Convention
July: First Presidential candidate to raise over $5 million in 24 hours online - John Kerry (D-MA)
June: First Presidential candidate to raise over $3 million in 24 hours online - John Kerry (D-MA)
- First Congressional candidate to allow the Internet community to decide his schedule through his campaign website - Jeff Seemann (D-OH)

November: First North American Internet vote - Canada
June: First 'online endorsement primary' by political organization - MoveOn.org
March: First Presidential candidate to raise over $20 million online and prove the real power of the Internet in politics - Howard Dean (VT)
January: First Presidential candidate to start a blog on his campaign website - Gary Hart
January: First campaign to 'outsource' online organizing via a commercial site - Howard Dean campaign and Meetup.com
-First online political party where the British members of the party decide on the party's policies through online voting - YourParty.org

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December: First Internet vote in France - Issy-Les-Moulineaux
November: First state to have touch-screen voting technology in all precincts - Georgia
September 29: First County Court system to accept email excuses or explanations in lieu of traffic court appearances - Yakima County, Washington state
August: First-ever live Internet broadcast candidacy announcement - Claud "Buddy" Leach, Louisiana gubernatorial candidate
July: First virtual character on a government Web site - Scottish executive's online reader "Seonaid" featured in the youth section
July: First state to allow candidates to file for office electronically - Washington State
June: First centralized online non-partisan advocacy research arena for Congressional staff - CapitolBeat.com
-First candidate to devote an entire Web site to one issue - Tony Sanchez, U.S. Senate candidate in Texas

July: First UK MP with a blog - Tom Watson MP for West Bromwich East

November 2: First online debate in Canadian federal elections - Policy.ca
November: First national party to have 1,000,000 activists online - The GOP
June: First President to conduct an Internet address - Bill Clinton
May: First President to conduct a "webside chat" with the nation - Bill Clinton
April 10: First all-politics Internet radio station - Policast.com
April: First President to chat online from Air Force One - Bill Clinton
March: First binding Internet election - Arizona Democratic Primary Election
February: First candidate to collect $500,000 online in one day and $2,000,000 in one week - John McCain, 2000 Presidential primary campaign
January: First Governor to deliver a state budget online - Jeb Bush (FL)
-First candidate to raise $1 million online in a campaign - Bill Bradley (NJ) Presidential Campaign
- First candidate to use video email - Al Gore, (TN) Presidential Campaign
- First Congressional site to be fully accessible to the disabled (met all W3C guidelines and be "Bobby"-approved) - Rep. Mark Green
- First British primary candidate with campaign website - Howard Dawber, Labour Party

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First President to host online town hall meeting - Bill Clinton

-First candidate to link his corporate website to his campaign website causing the FEC make a ruling on this activity - Dal LaManga, New York Congressional candidate
-First Press Secretary solely for the Internet for a President - Mark Kitchens
-First state nominating convention to be covered "live" online - Connecticut State Democratic Convention (Hartford)
-First negative banner ad - Peter Vallone, NY Gubernatorial campaign
-First candidate that would not have won without the Internet - Jesse Ventura, MN Gubernatorial Campaign
-First candidate to sell merchandise online - Barbara Boxer, CA Senate campaign
-First candidate to list contributor information online - Ed Garvey, WI Gubernatorial Campaign

October: First candidate to buy an online banner ad - Ted Mondale, MN Democratic Gubernatorial primary
January 7: First elected official to have an official government function webcast - Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon's inauguration
-First national political party to have a Web site - Democratic National Committee

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August: First U.S. political party to allow voters to cast their ballots via the Internet - Reform Party primary
-First national 3rd party to have a Website - Libertarian national party
-First online petition by a member of Congress - Senator Ashcroft
- First totally online debate between two candidates in the U.S. - Smith/Ravenel for SC Legislature

April: First Republican member of the U.S. Congress to post a Congressional website - John Hostettler
-First political party in Malta to have its own web-site - Malta Labour Party

October: First U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial online candidate debates - hosted by Minnesota E-Democracy
August: First election information web site - Minnesota E-Democracy
-First candidate web site - Dianne Feinstein, CA Senate campaign

-First U.S. Senator with web site - Ted Kennedy (MA)

-First E-mail campaign - Jerry Brown (CA)

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