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| For Immediate Release |
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For More Information, contact:
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| Thursday, September 28, 2000 |
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Kim Alexander or Saskia Mills
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(916) 325-2120; info@calvoter.org
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Fall 2000 California Online Voter Guide Debuts
on the Net!
California Voter Foundation launches the 7th edition of its award-winning, nonpartisan
election guide at www.calvoter.org
Sacramento, CA -- California voters looking for reliable election information on
the Internet will hit the mother lode when they visit www.calvoter.org,
where, starting today, voters can access the new California Online Voter Guide,
a nonpartisan clearinghouse of links and information about this year's election.
The guide, now in its seventh edition, is a noncommercial public service offered
by the California Voter Foundation (CVF), a pioneering nonprofit organization advancing
new technologies to improve democracy.
"California voters have a number of important decisions to make this November,"
said Kim Alexander, CVF's president and founder. "While political campaigns
spend hundreds of millions of dollars in California, much of that money pays for
advertising that's designed to manipulate, scare or confuse voters. Voters need and
deserve an alternative -- fortunately, they have one at calvoter.org."
CVF's web site grows increasingly popular each year, with traffic doubling every
election since the guide debuted on the Internet in 1994, peaking at 200,000 visits
during the March 2000 Primary. The latest edition covers 162 state and federal contests
in California, including the eight statewide propositions, the presidential election,
California's U.S. Senate race, 52 U.S. House contests, and 100 state legislative
races. The guide features contact information for proposition campaigns and all 525
federal and state candidates on California's ballot as well as links to hundreds
of official campaign web sites. The guide also provides questions and answers about
voting, contact information for local election agencies, and links to other election
resources recommended by CVF.
"What you won't find at calvoter.org is important, too," said Alexander.
"There is no banner advertising, and no registration is required. We're not
tracking your interests and we're not selling your political data to marketing companies.
What you will find is a trustworthy election resource available for free 24 hours
a day."
Already more than 70 percent of California's state and federal campaigns have responded
to CVF's request for a campaign web site address and updated contact information.
"Our voter guide is the most comprehensive and reliable directory of California
campaign web sites available on the Internet," said Saskia Mills, CVF's managing
director. "Candidates are eager to be included in our guide because it is a
popular and highly-valued public resource." CVF's voter guide will be frequently
updated throughout the Fall 2000 election season, with new features to be added soon,
including lists of the Top Ten donors for and against each state proposition.
The Fall 2000 election season marks the six year anniversary of the California Voter
Foundation's trailblazing work to pioneer the Internet as a tool for democratic reform.
Throughout its six-year history, the significance of CVF's role as an outlet for
credible election information has only broadened, and current trends suggest there
will be even more growth. A recent Yahoo!/Yankelovich poll found that nearly two
out of three Americans say the Internet will help them make more informed decisions
in this year's presidential election.
The California Online Voter Guide is made possible by a generous grant from The James
Irvine Foundation. Additional support for CVF's 2000 Election projects has been provided
by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
and the Markle Foundation. The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3)
organization funded by tax-exempt contributions from foundations, businesses and
individuals. For more information, visit www.calvoter.org.
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This page first published September 27, 2000 -- last updated September
27, 2000