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Public opinion and political communication are deeply intertwined dimensions of contemporary electoral democracy. Citizens’ attitudes are increasingly shaped by hybrid media environments in which traditional journalism, digital platforms, social media, campaign messaging, and interpersonal discussion interact in complex ways. This panel examines how political communication influences opinion formation, issue salience, political trust, polarization, mobilization, and electoral behaviour in Europe. It welcomes contributions on campaign communication, media effects, framing, priming, misinformation, selective exposure, leader communication, and the changing relationship between information environments and democratic citizenship. The panel is especially interested in research that connects communication processes to core questions of electoral democracy, such as representation, accountability, and participation. Comparative perspectives are particularly encouraged, as are papers from both qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches.