Google Metrics

Nate Silver has observed a difference in Google search traffic over the past month or so between Obama and McCain. The Obama search volume (both across the U.S. and in the ten states you can link to) consistently exceeds the McCain volume in the final days before the election.

With approximately 30% of the votes being cast prior to Election Day, who are the undecided voters who might still be looking for information on the candidates? A recent Pew Research Survey Report indicates that:

A week before the election, nearly one-in ten voters (8%) remain undecided in their choice for president and there is little to suggest that these voters will move strongly to one candidate or the other on election day.

Undecided voters do clearly distinguish themselves from supporters of both McCain and Obama in their lower levels of participation and interest in this election, and partisan politics in general. A majority (51%) of undecideds do not identify with either the Republican or Democratic parties and fewer than half (48%) report having voted in the primaries this year; by contrast, 63% of both Obama and McCain supporters say they voted in a primary.

Despite their lower level of interest, the Undecideds in the poll sample are registered voters, suggesting at the very least their intention to vote.