Keeping the Voter Informed

Wading through election-year rhetoric in order to vote intelligently can be confusing if not overwhelming. What's more, it's nearly impossible to tell by the barrage of candidates' TV ads and door-knob flyers exactly who or what to believe. Fortunately, help is only a free phone call or modem hookup away.Project Vote Smart has created a toll-free voter's research hotline and web site that enables concerned citizens to obtain instant information on both state and national candidates. The information includes biographical data, political history, performance evaluations by 70 liberal-to-conservative interest groups and position statements on key issues ranging from abortion to welfare. The web site also has numerous links to other political sites.The group also has published two free books: The Voter's Self-Defense Manual and U.S. Government: Owner's Manual, which contain Congressional members' contact information, position statements, campaign finance contributions and performance evaluations. Building their vast resources, however, was not easy. The group sent out a survey called the National Political Awareness test to incumbents and candidates around the country, testing the candidate's willingness to provide information. Approximately 60-70 percent answered -- or over 20,000 candidates, according to Saskia Mills, assistant director of public information at Project Vote Smart.Project Vote Smart was created in Tucson, Arizona, in 1988 by a group of teachers, concerned citizens and former politicians who were frustrated by the lack of easily accessible non-partisan information on candidates. The group went national in 1992, and currently is located on the Oregon State University Campus in Corvallis, Oregon.Two founders of the non-partisan group are former presidents, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. The bi-partisan board includes people from all areas of the political spectrum. "Everything we do is reviewed by the board," said Mills. "We like to say that a person can't join our board unless they bring a political enemy with them. That way citizens can be sure we are non-partisan."To order the booklet or find out information on a candidate, access their website at: http://www.vote-smart.org; phone: 1-800-622-SMART; or write: Project Vote Smart, Center For National Independence in Politics, 129 NW 4th St, #204, Corvallis, OR 97330.