Edison: Audio Most Effective At Reaching Voters

As another U.S. election year arrives in 2026, Share of Ear® once again identifies the audio platforms most effective at reaching targeted voting-age audiences. With ad-supported audio connecting to 81% of the voting-age public every day, this medium is far too powerful to ignore. Share of Ear reveals exactly how audio can be leveraged more strategically to engage the hearts, minds, and ears of voters.

Certain ad-supported audio platforms are more efficient than others at reaching Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Political advertisements on AM/FM Radio or SiriusXM Radio are more likely to reach Republicans; with an index of 117 for AM/FM Radio and an index of 157 for ad-supported spoken-word channels on SiriusXM Radio. These statistics show that Republicans are 17% more likely than the average 18+ population to listen to AM/FM Radio in a typical day and 57% more likely than average to listen to SiriusXM Radio.

Democrats are bit more likely than average to listen to ad-supported Streaming Music, at an index of 101, Music Videos on YouTube, at an index of 103, and SiriusXM Radio, also at an index of 103. Podcasting (on any platform) is the most efficient platform in reaching Democratic voters, with an index of 107.

Independents are typically a highly-coveted voting block since they can ultimately sway the outcome of an election. The platform that indexes the highest for Independents is Podcasts, where this voting group is 19% more likely than average to be listening daily. This group is also more likely than the average to listen to ad-supported Music and Music Videos on YouTube, with an index of 105.