2000 Is Seen as Pivotal E-Politics Year 

By T.K. Maloy


WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 2000 presidential and general elections will probably go down in history as being the pivotal “E-Politics” year.
The Net was slow to make significant political inroads during the 1996 election cycle, but then suddenly in 1998 and 99 the Net started to hit big as an effective campaign tool. Which comes as no surprise since the Internet is currently exploding into all facets of modern life.
We now see the Net commonly being used as a potent publishing medium via websites which communicate candidate “messages” and other favorable information out to the electorate. And within the last several years campaigns have also started using the Net in a sophisticated way as an organizational tool. 
Whether its through grass-roots e-mail networks or shared intranet bulletin boards to coordinate activities, the Net is showing its organizational abilities. Also, we see many candidates using the Net for online “Town Hall” style meetings, and for “chats” with potential voters — thus making the candidates more accessible to the voters, and also making the voters more accessible to the candidates.
And perhaps most interestingly off all — particularly to the candidates — is the use of the Net for large-scale fundraising. 
This kicked off in earnest during the spring of 1999, when the Federal Election Commission made a ruling that effectively opened the door for comprehensive online fundraising. This decision was the result of a request filed by the Bill Bradley campaign which in turn was the campaign that did the best in getting contributions through online means.
By the end of 1999, the Bradley campaign had raised over $1.18 million online, with Senator John McCain not to far behind with a fundraising total of $750,000 over the Internet. This method of fundraising has quickly become a standard on all the campaigns with most candidate websites featuring “click and contribute” features that allow contributions by credit card at the candidate’s home page.
Here is a list of presidential candidate home pages:

Democratic Candidates 

Albert Gore:
http://www.gore2000.org
Bill Bradley: 
http://www.billbradley.com

Republican Candidates

George W. Bush 
http://www.georgewbush.com
John McCain
http://www.mccain2000.com
Steve Forbes
http://www.forbes2000.com
Gary Bauer
http://www.bauer2k.com

Reform Party

Pat Buchanan
http://www.gopatgo2000.org
Donald Trump
http://www.donaldjtrump2000.com
 
The Internet is also making for a more informed voter, with many political resources that verge on the encyclopedic. There are a host of nonpartisan informational websites that can help voters get background and archival information on candidates, including everything from campaign contributions, to voting records and to stands on the issues. Some of the top in this category are:
Cspan.org has a database of video coverage for campaign events, and a searchable archive of candidate speeches
http://www.cspan.org
Democracy Network maintains background information on election and campaign activities in all 50 states.
http://www.democracynetwork.org
Issues2000 presents the presidential candidate’s positions on an array of important national issues.
http://www.issues2000.org
The Freedom Channel has short videos with candidate statements on various issues.
http://www.freedom.channel.com
Politics.Com has issue forums, polls, news, and links to a myriad of other politically topical web sites.
http://www.politics.com
Project Vote-Smart has candidate background, candidate speeches, and legislation tracking.
http://www.vote-smart.org 
Voter.Com has information on issues, presidential candidates, and has links to advocacy groups
http://www.voter.com
Political News from CNN
http://cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/