LWV California Voter. Smart Voter '97

California Voter Online!
The League of Women Voters of California

Spring, 1998. Vol. 85 No. 2

Smart Voter '97

By Trudell Een, Smart Voter Director, LWV San Jose, Santa Clara

"I have bookmarked your web site, and I will make a point to visit next time. Also, my wife and I both rely on the League of Women Voters election information mailouts for clear and unbiased explanations. We do appreciate the work the League of Women Voters accomplish every election."
--Best regards, Alex K.
"I want to thank you all for putting the Smart Voter page together. You performed an invaluable service to the voters of Santa Clara County. I hope you keep doing this for years to come!"
--signed, Fred F. (candidate).

Glowing feedback like the above is the norm as the League of Women Voters takes the lead to present Smart Voter to the public. The interactive nonpartisan web site presents information on candidates and measures in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Voters go to http://www.smartvoter.org, type in their address and zip code, and pull up a web page with information specific to their address. The location of their polling place, all candidates that will appear on their ballot, propositions and measures are shown. Links to news and opinions pieces in local newspapers are also available.

To top off the end of the '97 election, Smart Voter Director and LWV member, Trudell Een was interviewed for the PBS show, The Internet Cafe. Smart Voter was featured as part of its show on activism on the web. It was aired on over 150 PBS stations nationwide in January.

"The show began with background information on Smart Voter, then interspersed pages from the web site. Viewers could see exactly what Smart Voter offered. For many people, this will be a great introduction to the web site and a reminder that the League of Women Voters is working diligently to make democracy work!" said Een.

Plans for the future include bringing on more local Leagues and counties for the 1998 June primary. The Smart Voter website does provide a "demo" feature for anyone interested in viewing this exciting project: go to http://www.smartvoter.org.