Tech policy and the midterm elections: Did our assessment prove true?

My report “Tech Policy and the Midterm Elections” examined the role of tech policy in the election and whether the issue of net neutrality would encourage millennials to vote. Correct assessment: Tech policy doesn’t drive voters to the ballot box. According to the Edison NBC News poll, the key issues for voters were health care (41 percent of voters), immigration (23 percent), the economy (21 percent), and guns (11 percent). As I noted in my report, this follows the conventional wisdom on midterm polls and Pew’s longitudinal poll of policy priorities over the past decade, showing that no internet policy issue, including net neutrality, entered into the top 40 issues for voters. Net neutrality may offer a compelling narrative for symbolic political communication, but internet freedom will lead to more economic growth and benefit more Americans.