Representing the Public in Campaign Media: A Political Cartoon Perspective

Although voters are central to the processes of democracy, scholarly attention to voters, with few exceptions, is limited to statistical analysis of decision-making and opinionformation processes, treating voters as a mass audience or audience segment. This article argues for more nuanced interpretations of voter representations in the media. Citing key studies of news media representation, the authors explore visual representation of voters in political cartoon commentary and argue that cartoons provide a viewof voters that supports and supplements views evident in the news media but question the role of voter depictions in cartoons as sources of understanding about political publics.