SEATTLE — Americans have learned a lot about how Donald Trump feels about people through Twitter. But how do Twitter users feel about Donald Trump? Computer scientists from the University of Utah have developed what they call "sentiment analysis" software that can determine how voters are feeling based on what they write or say.
Feifei Li, an associate professor at the University who helped develop the program, said it provides a real-time window into how the public is reacting to political events.
"What's cool is that you can actually adjust the lens of the window. If you look at the last few months of data altogether, the sentiments for Democrats is stronger than the sentiments for Republicans,” Li said. "Given the recent outburst of email scandals, things might change a little bit."
Researchers said the biggest surge of positive tweets for Republicans came during the national convention, and again after a video was released of Trump boasting about sexually assaulting women. The peak for both positive and negative tweets for Democrats came on the heels of the final debates.
Li's team started with more than 250 million global tweets and used advanced software to identify 1.6 million political posts in the United States. Li noted the program was only able to detect the leanings of Twitter users, which are not necessarily reflective of the population at large.
The group's results suggested that if larger data streams could be tapped in future versions, today's pollsters could find themselves out of a job.
"We feel like if you collect enough data from the population, if you get an unbiased sample from the population using this data-driven approach, the results might be more accurate,” Li said.
The scientists used artificial intelligence and machine learning to help the program decipher complexities in human language. The group then compared its results with the New York Times' forecasts and found the state-by-state analysis was very similar.
More information on the study and its findings is available here.
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An Alabama group is urging lawmakers to simplify the voter restoration process for people who have lost their right to vote. In Alabama, more than 8% of adults, or one in 13 people, are disenfranchised, according to The Sentencing Project.
JaiGregory Clarke, Birmingham organizer with Faith in Action Alabama, warns that the number is likely to increase due to House Bill 100, which expands the list of crimes that can strip voting rights. He said the law bars thousands from the ballot, including people who were previously eligible to vote. His organization is pushing for reforms to ensure that once individuals have served their time, they can fully participate in democracy.
"If someone re-enters the community, if they've served their time and they've paid their debt to society and they're active, meaning they are employed and are paying taxes, then they should absolutely have voting rights or say in the policies that govern our community," Clarke said.
Clarke explained that regaining the right to vote in Alabama is a complicated and costly process. People must complete their sentence, pay all fines, fees and restitution - which can total thousands of dollars - and then apply for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote, or CERV.
To change that, Clarke said voting-rights advocates are backing Senate Bill 7. If passed, the bill would introduce several major changes to Alabama's voting system. It would allow same-day voter registration, eliminate the need for an excuse to vote absentee, and create a statewide voter database. Clarke believes the bill would make the voting process fairer and more accessible, and added that it would not only streamline the process of restoring voting rights but also expand access to voting across the state.
"What it proposes is a complete overhaul of the way people get their voting rights back in Alabama," Clarke said.
The bill would also establish an Alabama Voting Rights Commission to oversee election changes and require preclearance for certain decisions at the state and local levels - ensuring new policies don't unfairly impact eligible voters. Sponsored by Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, the legislation is currently awaiting committee action.
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Legislation now in Congress could further complicate how Arizonans cast their ballots.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act would require a person to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, which is not entirely new to Arizonans. Since 2013, Arizona voters have had to provide documents proving their citizenship to vote in state and local elections.
Sydney Bryant, policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, said it is already illegal for noncitizens to register or cast a ballot in federal elections. The measure would require anyone to present documentation in person like a passport or birth certificate to vote in federal elections. Bryant argued it exacerbates barriers voters already face.
"Many rural voters do not live necessarily near their county election office," Bryant pointed out. "They would have to travel great lengths, for many of them, to provide in-person evidence of their citizenship."
Bryant noted amendments to the bill might still be made but she called the current version "disastrous," affecting not only rural voters but potentially up to 3.5 million Arizonans who do not have passports. Supporters of the bill argued its aim is to increase election integrity, although studies have shown voter fraud is extremely rare.
Another group the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act could affect is married women. Bryant noted nationwide, tens of millions could not present a birth certificate to prove their citizenship if they changed their legal name when they got married. In Arizona alone, it would be the case for more than 1.5 million women.
"Approximately 80% of U.S. women who are married, at some point or another, have taken their spouse's last name and so, it would not match," Bryant emphasized. "Under the current bill, there really isn't a direct path, under the SAVE Act, as to this situation that so many women are in."
As it stands, the legislation does not include a process for people who have changed their name to resolve documentation discrepancies. Bryant added it does not ensure marriage certificates or other name-change documentation can be used as proof. She contended on the national level, the measure would complicate an already well-functioning process.
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In many U.S. cities, President's Day was used to sound the alarm over actions by the Trump administration.
Minnesota protesters braved subzero temperatures Monday to express worry about the loss of democratic norms.
The 50501 Movement is described as a grassroots effort where organizers connect online to schedule peaceful protests in all states.
Monday marked the second nationwide group of rallies since President Donald Trump returned to office.
Woodbury's Rob Gallagher attended the St. Paul event. He said he's convinced democracy is being undermined as Trump's staff aggressively cuts agency budgets and workers in the face of court challenges.
"It affects everybody, the great many," said Gallagher, "and for what? You know, it's incompetently done, it's done without checks and balances on appropriations that have already been made, and without checks on conflicts of interest. And so, it's wrong in every dimension."
Those conflicts of interest involve claims that Trump adviser Elon Musk, leading the purge of spending cuts, is violating ethics rules because his companies hold government contracts.
Other protesters say Congress isn't doing enough to intervene.
Musk and other Trump officials defend their actions, saying these are changes Americans voted for.
The 50501 Movement says it isn't tied to any political party and calls for Trump to be impeached and for Musk to be investigated.
Gallagher said he hopes the feelings they're expressing dovetail into other forms of peaceful protest, in both blue and red states.
"Consumers' purchasing drives the economy," said Gallagher, "and if we could leverage this sort of group activity into a 'no buy day' - or, you know, 'no purchases over a weekend' - or to other kinds of group activity, that would move the needle."
Gallagher, who is retired, said he worked many years in business and was trained to reduce wasteful spending. He's convinced any entity can be made more efficient, but thinks what's happening in Washington, D.C., isn't the way to do it.
Attendance has varied at these protests, depending on the state and weather. Most in the Midwest have seen several hundred people.
Support for this reporting was provided by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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