Voting Begins in Online U.S. Democratic 'Primary'
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:14 am
Courtesy of Reuters...
Voting Begins in Online U.S. Democratic 'Primary'
Tue June 24, 2003 06:00 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voting opened with a few hiccups on Tuesday in an online Democratic presidential "primary" held by MoveOn.org, a 1.4 million-member advocacy group that is considering endorsing a candidate in 2004.
Voters in the virtual primary reported delays in getting ballots on Tuesday and were unable to get on the site for 45 minutes during morning crunch time. Organizers said voting was heavy, but the problems had been ironed out and everyone would get ballots.
"There were lines at the polls for about 45 minutes," said Zack Exley, organizing director of MoveOn, a liberal group formed in 1998 to oppose the impeachment of Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Voting will continue for 48 hours -- until midnight EDT on Wednesday -- with the results announced on Friday. If any candidate gets more than 50 percent, he will win the group's endorsement, which is likely to bring a windfall in campaign contributions and grass-roots support.
Exley said MoveOn will send an e-mail to members on Tuesday night reminding them to vote.
The cyberspace primary comes more than six months before the real thing begins in Iowa and New Hampshire, but the candidates are watching the results with anticipation.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who has built an extensive grass-roots support network and strong Internet operation, is considered the likely leader. But organizers and campaign officials say it is unlikely anyone will reach 50 percent in a Democratic field with nine candidates.
The online primary by MoveOn, founded by two Silicon Valley software developers, has been accused by other campaigns of favoritism for allowing Dean, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich to send e-mails to members appealing for support.
MoveOn officials said Dean, Kerry and Kucinich were allowed to make the pitches because they were the three top finishers in a poll of members last month.
Democratic campaigns sent e-mail messages to their supporters asking them to register at the site and vote. Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi said most other candidates were participating in hopes of keeping Dean below 50 percent.
"If anybody wins, it would be enormous," said Trippi, who believes his campaign's 120,000-member e-mail list could at least double with an endorsement from MoveOn, which donated $4.1 million to congressional candidates in 2002.
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jht ... ID=2982786
Voting Begins in Online U.S. Democratic 'Primary'
Tue June 24, 2003 06:00 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voting opened with a few hiccups on Tuesday in an online Democratic presidential "primary" held by MoveOn.org, a 1.4 million-member advocacy group that is considering endorsing a candidate in 2004.
Voters in the virtual primary reported delays in getting ballots on Tuesday and were unable to get on the site for 45 minutes during morning crunch time. Organizers said voting was heavy, but the problems had been ironed out and everyone would get ballots.
"There were lines at the polls for about 45 minutes," said Zack Exley, organizing director of MoveOn, a liberal group formed in 1998 to oppose the impeachment of Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Voting will continue for 48 hours -- until midnight EDT on Wednesday -- with the results announced on Friday. If any candidate gets more than 50 percent, he will win the group's endorsement, which is likely to bring a windfall in campaign contributions and grass-roots support.
Exley said MoveOn will send an e-mail to members on Tuesday night reminding them to vote.
The cyberspace primary comes more than six months before the real thing begins in Iowa and New Hampshire, but the candidates are watching the results with anticipation.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who has built an extensive grass-roots support network and strong Internet operation, is considered the likely leader. But organizers and campaign officials say it is unlikely anyone will reach 50 percent in a Democratic field with nine candidates.
The online primary by MoveOn, founded by two Silicon Valley software developers, has been accused by other campaigns of favoritism for allowing Dean, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich to send e-mails to members appealing for support.
MoveOn officials said Dean, Kerry and Kucinich were allowed to make the pitches because they were the three top finishers in a poll of members last month.
Democratic campaigns sent e-mail messages to their supporters asking them to register at the site and vote. Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi said most other candidates were participating in hopes of keeping Dean below 50 percent.
"If anybody wins, it would be enormous," said Trippi, who believes his campaign's 120,000-member e-mail list could at least double with an endorsement from MoveOn, which donated $4.1 million to congressional candidates in 2002.
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jht ... ID=2982786