Getting Americans Online Will Be a Big Election Issue in 2016

One key storyline of this election season has been how presidential campaigns are using technology -- whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or e-mail -- to target voters online. But an arguably more important story is how, if elected, those candidates would help the 55 million Americans who don’t have access to the Internet at all get online in the first place.

Among the Democratic candidates, at least, those plans are starting to emerge. Recently, Hillary Clinton unveiled a $275 billion infrastructure plan aimed at fixing America’s roads and bridges, upgrading the country’s airports, and creating a $25 billion national infrastructure bank, among other things. The plan also includes a substantive section on ensuring every citizen not only has access to high-speed broadband but is equipped with the digital literacy skills they need to use it. Meanwhile, the Rebuild America Act proposed by Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) earlier in 2015 sets aside $5 billion a year through 2019 to expand broadband connectivity in underserved communities.