Net makes political process interactive

By Greg Wright
Gannett News Service

Caty Borum has a quick conference with Todd Waldman in Beverly Hills, Calif., about upcoming events for Declareyourself.com, one of several Web sites that offer voter registration and information on candidates. Gannett News Service

Several sites target a voting bloc many consider apathetic — the MTV generation. More than half of Americans age 18 to 24 were not registered to vote in 2000 compared with just one of three voters 45 to 64, the Census Bureau said.

"Online voter registration has been around for a long time. But it's really at this time when it's come into its own," said Jay Strell, spokesman for Rock The Vote. That Web site is designed especially for the 18-30 crowd.

Sites that offer voter information have been around since the World Wide Web became popular in the mid-1990s.

But the Web sites have become more sophisticated and ingrained in popular culture, experts said.

Even Rolling Stone magazine has a link to Declare Yourself, a voter registration and information site for young people.

Many of the sites are from nonprofit, nonpartisan groups that run on donations, volunteers, corporate sponsors and grants. Several people who set up the Web sites say they did so because they wanted to give Americans an easy way to track their lawmakers' performance and judge candidates.

Hubert Hubik, a fortysomething political exile from the former Czechoslovakia, used to share an e-mail political newsletter with friends. But in 1995, when the Internet became more widespread, Hubik converted his newsletter into the Voter Information Services site.

"I came here as a refugee when Czechoslovakia was still run by communists," he said. "It's definitely a much different system.

"That's part of the reason I got into this. I had the feeling that, really, people didn't take full advantage of this privilege that not everybody in the world has," Hubik said.

Variety of political Web sites encourage voters to get involved

Here is a brief look at what several voting Web sites have to offer:

Office of Elections State of Hawaii

• Web site: www.state.hi.us/elections
• Bragging rights: State government Web site provides basic information about voter services, candidate information, election results, registration statistics and key dates leading up to and including the primary and general elections.
• Special perk: Want to know what constitutional amendment questions will be included on the ballot in the 2004 general election? A link on the main page takes you to a PDF file featuring a fact sheet on the four questions.

Center for Responsive Politics

• Web site: www.opensecrets.org.
• Bragging rights: Want to know where the money is? The Center for Responsive Politics tracks how money influences politics. For instance, voters can easily find out that by May 20, President Bush had raised $215 million while his Democratic opponent Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., had almost $150 million.
• Special perk: This site lets you snoop into your neighbors' political activities. Just click on Get Local! Enter your ZIP code to find out who the biggest political contributors are in your neck of the woods.

Declare Yourself

• Web site: www.declareyourself.com.
• Bragging rights: This Web site is aimed at first-time voters. It features basic information on the presidential candidates and an easy-to-use form so users can download and print voter registration forms.
• Special projects director Caty Borum said the site empowers young voters. "If a politician knows a significant voter bloc is not voting, they won't pay attention to our issues," said Borum, 29. "Our democracy and right to vote is the most egalitarian right we have."
• Special perk: Users can order Declare Yourself T-shirts designed by fashion heavyweights Isaac Mizrahi, Todd Oldham and Richard Tyler.

Federal Election Commission

• Web site: www.fec.gov.
• Bragging rights: This government Web site might not be as flashy or easy to navigate as Rock the Vote, but it is stuffed with data. The site scans documents filed by presidential and congressional candidates and political action committees that detail who gives them money and how they are spending it.
• Special perk: Is your lawmaker or candidate a big spender? Click on Campaign Finance Reports and Data and then click on View/Download Electronic Filings. Enter your lawmaker's name in the search field, call up their quarterly finance reports and look at itemized disbursements. You may be surprised at what candidates spend on hotels, credit cards and restaurants.

Project Vote Smart

• Web site: www.vote-smart.org.
• Bragging rights: Based in Philipsburg, Mont., this Web site tracks the voting records of more than 40,000 local, state and federal lawmakers. The site even has a database of candidate speeches.
• Special perk: The Web site gives candidates a detailed, nonpartisan questionnaire that examines what they think about issues such as gun control and affirmative action. You can search for candidates who have responded to the questionnaire by state. But don't look for Bush or Kerry because neither was willing to provide answers.

Rock the Vote

• Web site: www.rockthevote.com.
• Bragging rights: This site is targeted at young people and features downloadable voter registration forms. The site claims it has helped register 300,000 new voters since the start of the year. It also features tutorials on political issues relevant to Generation X and Generation Y voters, including the environment, healthcare, crime, and credit-card and student-loan debt.
• Special perk: Rock the Vote has celebrity power. On June 16, the group launched a 50-city bus tour to promote voter registration. The tour features musical performances by artists such as rapper Snoop Dogg and the Dave Matthews Band.

Smackdown Your Vote!

• Web site: vote.wwe.com.
• Bragging rights: Don't be fooled because World Wrestling Entertainment is a sponsor of this site. It's not just for wrestling fans. This "apartisan" site, targeted at voters 18 to 30, features a link to the League of Women Voters' voter registration page. It also offers Politics 101, a page with links to Web sites that give young voters the information they need to make an informed decision.
• Special perk: Bush and Kerry answered a list of questions about where they stand on issues important to young people. Young voters' top concern was landing a decent, well-paying job.