------- Forwarded message follows ------- Send reply to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "GoVote.com - Paul Hrabal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: E-Voting Starts Monday Date sent: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 23:43:25 -0800 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Paul Hrabal, CEO (916) 797-7443 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] > E-Voting Starts Monday > First Binding Internet Elections In History > Internet Voting Lets Alaskan Voters in Remote Region Participate in Straw > Poll > Juneau, Alaska - January 20, 2000. The first binding internet election in > history will take place January 24, 2000. With sponsorship by a web > company named GoVote.com and new technology making it possible, over three > thousand registered Republicans in districts 36, 37 and 38 - a region > accessed mostly by seaplane, snowmobile or dog sled -- will be able to > cast their ballot. > The Monday election determines who will go to the Republican National > Convention on behalf of Alaskan Republican voters, and, consequently, who > Alaskan voters nominate for the Republican presidential candidacy. > GoVote.com's sponsorship of the Alaska poll is part of the company's push > to make politics more accessible. Tens of thousands of people per day come > to GoVote.com for answers and updates about the presidential candidates. > Paul Hrabal, CEO, says he wants the Alaskan straw poll voters to check out > GoVote.com before casting their ballots. > "GoVote.com is tackling some of the largest obstacles voters face -- lack > of time to dig up the political news and information that affects them. > Alaskans in remote areas face really tough obstacles, so we volunteered to > sponsor them to vote by internet," Hrabal said. > The Alaskans set to cast their ballot online Monday live in a region that > is dark for about 20 hours per day during the month of January. Their home > districts border Canada on the east, the Bering Sea to the north and the > Yukon River to the west. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 62 > percent of households in Alaska have a computer - higher than any other > state -- and of those households 44 percent are on the web. > "The inclusion of these people in the democratic process is historic. > GoVote.com wants to see all voters visit us to register to vote, get > practical information about their choices, and go vote." Voters can take > the VoteMatch® quiz on GoVote.com to get the facts about which candidates' > views match their own. After VoteMatch® returns a ranking of the > candidates, visitors can immediately check a candidate's stance on 23 hot > issues and 100 recent quotations. GoVote has documented 7 Republican and > Democratic candidates on a broad range of political issues. The site > appeals to an online audience that wants a "lightening-speed, > user-friendly way to interface with politics. That's why so many visit us > online," Hrabal said. "We might be even more popular in snowbound areas of > the U.S, like Alaska." GoVote.com is the leading independent political > site on the Net. The company is keeping pace with public response to the > year 2000 presidential election campaigns by adding and changing content > on its site daily. > As a gateway to news and information at the local, state, and federal > levels, the site provides: > voter registration > snapshots of daily political news coverage drawn from the top 30 U.S. > sources > discussion forums on issues such as gun control and abortion > a spotlight on the presidential candidates' background and policy > positions > a calendar of upcoming elections, conventions, and political news coverage > links to commercials, quotations and political news broadcasts > links to a broad spectrum of advocacy groups, and more. > This morning's free email update from GoVote.com, for instance, delivered > 10 handpicked headlines from today's top political news stories plus > streaming audio from National Public Radio. > For more information, visit <http://www.govote.com>, or call 916 797 7443, > or send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. > Correspondence may also be sent to GoVote.com at PMB 152, 6963 Douglas > Blvd., Granite Bay CA 95746.