Smart Voter: SmartVoterNews 11/12/02

This newsletter was emailed to our Smart Voter News distribution list on November 12, 2002:

Smart Voter Reports Record Traffic; Earns world-wide recognition

(Sacramento) Even with a low voter turnout for the November 2002 elections, many voters went to the polls better informed. Smart Voter, http://smartvoter.org, received over 1,800,000 page views for the November 2002 elections and over 2,500,000 for all 2002 elections. That is more than twice the number received in 2000 during a presidential election. In California and Ohio, Smart Voter supported 2,254 contests and had information on 410 ballot issues. Candidates listed on Smart Voter numbered 4,898.

Last month, Smart Voter received international acclaim as a finalist in the Stockholm Challenge, the Information Age's Nobel Prize. "The Challenge has shown that it is truly 'enlightened self-interest' to learn together, sharing and collaborating in order to build a better world," said Professor Alfonso Molina, Chairman of the Stockholm Challenge Jury.

Visitors to the Smart Voter Web site also contributed comments.

   "I'm visually impaired and cannot read the sample ballots... I found your site to be entirely readable..." -- Sacramento County

   "Even novices can find what they need." Placer County

   "Thank you... for breaking down technology barriers so that all candidates can be on the Internet." -- candidate from Alameda County

   "I [am] a huge fan of this site [since] 1996. I so appreciate that you mirror my ballot, ...link me directly to the arguments for and against each proposition and tell me about lesser-known candidates. I couldn't imagine an election without this site..." -- Santa Clara County

Likewise, we couldn't imagine an election without your help. Thank you to everyone who forwarded information on Smart Voter to friends and family. Thank you to those who suggested links to Web sites, news articles, and community candidate forums. Thank you for sending your questions and your comments. Most of all, thank you for your continued support and use of Smart Voter to become more informed on the issues.