Unless you’ve been off-world for a few years, it’s not news that electronic media technologies are exerting a dramatic impact on our political sphere. However, being generally aware of the fact and having a more detailed understanding of the hows and whys, that’s another thing.

Our good friend Josh Catone and his colleagues over at Mashable have just released a fantastic series (http://mashable.com/2012/10/02/politics-transformed-special-report/) entitled Politics Transformed: The High Tech Battle for Your Vote, and to say it’s illuminating is to badly understate the case. Some of the specific issues addressed include:

• How Close Are We to Internet Voting?
• How Crowdfunding Is Rewriting the Campaign Finance Playbook
• Digital Campaigning: Meet the Marketing Wizards of D.C.
• Voter Data: What the Candidates Know About You
• Can Targeted Ads Save Millions of Campaign Dollars?
• How Social Media Can Safeguard Your Vote
• How to Market the Next President
• The Rise of Mobile in Election 2012
• Election 2040: The First President for Digital Natives
• Social Is the Secret Weapon in Local Politics
• Gaffesplosion: The Unrelenting Hype of Modern Politics
• Can Social Media Really Boost Voter Turnout?
• Why Big Data Falls Short of Its Political Promise

This is why we love Mashable. Consider this special report recommended.