In the words of United States President Barack Obama "Call your members of Congress. Write them an email. Tweet it using the hashtag # My2K." (Coffee). Social media plays an increasingly important role in today's government. Social media has the power to influence elections and connect people to policymakers in new ways. Social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flicker, websites and blogs, are becoming common, attracting a younger, more tech-savvy voter. In recent elections, many candidates have learned to use these media outlets so as not to neglect tech-savvy voters and have learned to use them to their advantage. Candidates have successfully used the internet to raise awareness, express their views and even collect donations. Social media has been able to provide instant information about a candidate's standing, often days or weeks earlier than a more traditional poll. Polls play a role in political campaigns and government policymaking, but their reliability has recently been called into question. Republican polls gave presidential candidate Mitt Romney the information that he had a strong chance of winning key battleground states. Polls showed "he received at least 267 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election" (Hoffman). Watching the election night return, the reality was that Romney received only 206 Electoral College votes, a far cry from the magic number needed to win or tie national elections. The candidate's team used these polls and focused on states that had a high chance of winning votes. Romney focused his energy in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two states he ultimately lost. At the same time, social media polls showed a much different and more precise situation...... middle of paper ...... in the political process could be a reality. Once a person's vote is stolen, their vote is lost and the votes can be sold for profit. Questioning the validity of our future elections could destroy confidence in our electoral process. As the new digital age has developed, a new way of voting has also evolved; online voting. Although online voting is more convenient, cheaper and faster, it could also lead to hackers stealing an entire election or excluding an entire portion of voters. The vote and voice of those who do not have access to computers, people living in poverty or those who are not technologically literate will be missed. The future of American government, political structure, and elections will evolve around emerging social media. How politicians and government officials use technology could shape our country's policies..