 Voter.com |
| voter.com |
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All the
news and commentary that fits; exclusive writing
from major columnists.
Charges
candidates to include information.
1
Member has reviewed this site.
Public
Agenda
FBI
Working for
Change
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Reviewed
on 08.29.00
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Of the slew of political portals
fighting for prominence on the Web, Voter.com
stands out as one that may actually have a life
that transcends presidential campaigns. Backing up
its news, polls and resources with serious
political and journalistic firepower, Voter.com
warrants a bookmark from both the public and its
representatives.
What’s behind the
scenes distinguishes Voter.com as much as what’s
on the home page. From its top executives to its
staff writers, the site is peopled with seasoned
political reporters, experienced activists and
campaign veterans of all political stripes. The
site’s executives include Pulitzer Prize-winning
reporter Carl Bernstein and former Christian
Coalition executive director Randy Tate, while
exclusive columns come from such stalwarts as
Eleanor Clift, Tucker Carlson and Jack
Germond.
As on similar
sites, Voter.com links to news stories and columns
from many sources, but it does a noticeably better
job of presenting the material. Under the home
page’s Best of the Web section, users can scan
headlines from campaign news, issue-related
stories, 100 national columns and the day’s
editorials. Jumping to any of these areas provides
story summaries — with links — nicely organized by
general subject. There’s simply no need to go
elsewhere for political news and commentary. The
recent launching of a Spanish-language version of
the site, Español.Voter.com, is also worthy of
applause.
Voter.com
makes it easy to search for candidates by name or
state. The Legislation section keeps track of
activity in the House and Senate, providing
summaries of bills and their process, along with a
searchable archive of what’s been signed into law.
A reader can also launch a political fight of his
own in the Activism section, creating a group to
attract voters with a common concern to chat and
take action. While there are currently more than
1,000 such groups, the site’s adjacent message
boards are woefully
empty.
What’s
disconcerting is that political candidates and
organizations that aren’t Voter.com clients —
those who don’t pay a fee — have pages bereft of
information. There’s nothing wrong with charging
for a presence — Voter.com is in it for the money,
after all — but it makes the site seem
disingenuous in its efforts to present balanced
information. There’s no excuse for the site not
clearly explaining this to users.
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John Johnson from
Chapel Hill, NC |
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Great effort;
hopefully the site will mature. |
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Voter.com is definitely worth
a bookmark for the politically conscious, and
even the not-so-politically conscious. I am glad
the Internet is becoming involved in elections,
because a good democracy requires sound decision
making on the part of the voters, and sound
decision making requires good information. The
information on this site is easy to find, and
for ease of use and time, this really beats
reading through lots of news sites or
newspapers. I think they can improve the layout
somewhat, but that should come with time. My
only main concern is their biases, which they do
not make clear. Hopefully this situation will
improve as the Internet becomes more of an
influence in political processes (and as the
site gets more clients). All in all, I use this
as a portal to the political Internet. Put it on
your list and check it frequently (as well as
the other sites you trust) before and after the
election. |
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| Reviewed on
08.31.00
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