TO:   CVF-NEWS
FROM:   Kim Alexander, CVF President
DATE:   February 18, 2000
RE:   Top Ten Donors, Proposition Song Now Online!




Hi Folks!

We are very pleased to annouce that "The Proposition Song" and the Top Ten proposition donors are now online at www.calvoter.org! Log on, check it out, get informed, and let us know what you think! Below is the news release we issued today. Many thanks to our members and funders for supporting CVF's voter education projects.

Enjoy, and please tell all your friends to visit www.calvoter.org! -- Kim Alexander, kimalex@calvoter.org

--------------------

For Immediate Release -- Friday, February 18, 2000
For More Information, contact Kim Alexander or Saskia Mills
(916) 325-2120, info@calvoter.org


"The Proposition Song", Top Ten Donors Now Online

Nonpartisan tools help California voters prepare for March 7 Primary

Sacramento, California -- With the Primary election fast approaching, the California Voter Foundation has launched two new tools to help voters prepare for the upcoming election. Now available on CVF's web site are lists of the Top Ten donors who are supporting and opposing the 20 propositions on the Primary ballot. CVF also released today, in partnership with QuantumLight.com, "The Proposition Song", an animated sing-along web presentation that gives a quick overview of the 20 propositions. The song and Top Ten lists are online at:

www.calvoter.org

"We're creating these resources for voters because people are busy," said Kim Alexander, President and founder of the California Voter Foundation. "The ballot is confusing and voters are struggling to make sense of their choices. The Proposition Song, along with CVF's Top Ten donors lists and our California Online Voter Guide are packed with information and designed to make the voter education process more meaningful and less of a burden."

CVF teamed up with QuantumLight.com, a Massachusetts-based web design house to create the animated song. CVF's Alexander adapted the melody and wrote the lyrics for the Proposition Song, while QuantumLight.com created the animated presentation, with the words of the song on the screen and a bouncing ball prompting the audience to "sing along".

"We enjoy the challenge of leveraging Internet media technologies to help our communities become more engaged in the the political process." said Garret LoPorto, Captain and founder of QuantumLight.com. The company donated its time and expertise to the project as a way to further its mission to advance "web design for humanity".

The animated sing-along presentation requires Flash 4.0, which can be downloaded for free. The song is also available as an audio file that can be heard in MP3, RealPlayer or Quicktime. The song is also available on CD-Rom to stations that wish to play it on the air.

CVF's web site now also features the Top Ten contributors supporting and opposing each of the 20 propositions, as well as the total amounts raised and spent on the measures through the end of 1999. "Following the money is one of the quickest and easiest ways to find out what a proposition is really about," Alexander said, noting that CVF will be updating the Top Ten figures periodically throughout the election season.

The Proposition Song and Top Ten lists are the most recent features added to CVF's California Online Voter Guide 2000, a nonpartisan clearinghouse of election information launched last week. The voter guide, produced by CVF for every statewide election since 1994 and now in its sixth edition, also features campaign links and contact information for the 20 state propositions and for 750 candidates running in 174 California political contests, including the Presidential, congressional and legislative races.

CVF's web site is a free to users, free of advertisements, and easy to use and navigate.

The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)3 organization advancing new technologies to improve democracy. CVF's Election 2000 projects are supported with grants from the Hewlett Foundation, the Gerbode Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and contributions from members. For more information, visit CVF on the web at www.calvoter.org. For more information about QuantumLight.com, visit their web site at www.quantumlight.com, or call (800) 827-1230.

-end-


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This page was first published on February 18, 2000 | Last updated on February 18, 2000
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