GlassBooth

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new report yesterday titled “The Internet and the 2008 Election.” While so many polls into attitudes towards elections surface an underlying cynicism towards the entire institution - this release is largely testament to the Internet’s growing influence in elections and how it is being used. Of the more interesting findings:

- 46% of US citizens have used the Internet to get info, share info with others, or get involved this election cylce.

- To put “46%” in a historical context, this number has risen around 10% every election cycle dating back to 2000.

- While SMS technologies are fueling civic engagement globally - they have yet to show real impact in US elections. Of regular text-messengers, only one in ten have used SMS to receive political information.

- Watching videos online has seen the largest bump in activity. Today 35% of US citizens have gone online to watch speeches and political videos. The Pew poll makes a favorable suggestion that the increased interest in access to unfiltered political videos is a response to the decline in the mainstream media’s coverage of political events - or as Pew puts it: a “workaround of ’sound bite’ culture.” Similarly, the diffusion of video capturing technologies (mobile cameras) has been responsible for creating several election storylines - mostly political miscues.

The Internet is an alternative to mainstream media and it is new. There is great promise, but people are still uncomfortable welcoming this new medium for such sacred information. 60% of respondents, when asked, felt the Internet is full of misinformation and propaganda. While the openness of the Internet should never insure integrity - we should all be most interested in the available tools for sharing that surface those select information sources we can trust.

Ron Paul informed the world last night that he is ending his candidacy for president. Over the next couple weeks we will be researching the policy positions of Bob Barr - the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president - in the hopes of adding him to the online quiz soon. Stay tuned.

I was recently tipped off to DonorsChoose.org and the more I think about their work, the more impressed I am.

I am a public school teacher in an impoverished community. I want my students to have the same education as the nearby public school system in a wealthier neighborhood, but our budget simply doesn’t suffice. Specifically, I was looking to purchase a couple digital camcorders and Macs to teach my fifth graders how to capture their lives and share them through digital storytelling. Wihtout being able to personally afford the materials, I post the request on DonorsChoose.org, asking the online community to chip in any part of the $1,000 needed for the equipment. Within one week I have received enough in online contributions to purchase the cameras and computers and send the donors regular updates as to the progress of my students.

The hypothetical above is just one of thousands of stories that might be found on the DonorsChoose.org site. Beyond the amazing service is a business model designed for sustainability. When a donor makes a contribution through the site they are asked to contribute a “fulfillment fee” relative to the budget of the school that goes to support the general administration of DonorsChoose.org. This fee along with corporate sponsorship is enough to continue to grow this amazing service. Glassbooth encourages you to open your heart and support public education using DonorsChoose.org

Do Something is an amazing organization that supports the work of young people making change. Glassbooth is the May recepient of a Do Something Plum Grant which willl enable us to continue to provide our service for free and start to roll out our model into local and state elections.

There is learning about balanced budgets. There is paying taxes. There is collecting benefits. Then there is setting your nation’s budget priorities and taxing its citizens in a well thought out online simulation. Let’s call it Budget Hero.

The game - the product of a partnership between Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Serious Games - allows you to learn about the budget implication of government and the services it provides. From foreign policy to health care, the game puts you in the Oval Office as you cut budgets, wage war, and avert coming economic crises.

After tireless hours of research by the Glassbooth hack research team, Ralph Nader has now been entered in the Glassbooth quiz. You can take the quiz or access his positions directly in the Explore Candidates section.

We are still seeking a response from the Nader campaign to clarify some of Mr. Nader’s positions. If you feel compelled, please contact his campaign directly and ask they forward along the requested information.

Thanks,
Glassbooth Team

We have received quite a few emails in the last weeks regarding the addition of Mr. Nader to the Glassbooth.org candidate tool (as promised below).

While we have conducted extensive research on Mr. Nader’s positions, we often require the aide of a campaign to lend statements on positions that are harder to find. While we have been in contact with the Nader campaign, we have not received information on the ten or so outstanding issues needed for us to add him to the website.

If you would like to help, please contact Mr. Nader’s campaign directly and ask they provide Glassbooth with information on his positions.

Thanks,
Glassbooth Team

There is an expressed trustworthiness in online exchanges that have suggested the United States open its most sacred exchange to the same process. Today, people willingly send hundreds of thousands of dollars across PayPal or Ameritrade to purchase luxury items or stock…so why are we so worried to send our votes across the Internet?

Kit Seelye of the New York Times Caucus Blog opened the question to readers and found mixed results. Not surprisingly, a 2004 PEW poll found that 53% of Americans would still prefer to vote in person, while 27% would prefer voting by the Internet and 17% by mail.

Let’s break down the case for and against online voting, which is currently being used in pilot programs across the country and internationally.

The good:

Americans Abroad - The group Democrats Abroad held primaries for the presidential election this year. The groups has been allocated 11 delegates at the Democratic National Convention representing the interests of many traveling Americans.

Estonia - The Baltic nation is the first in the world to open its elections online. Officials call its first attempt in 2005 largely successful. link

Participation - Only 55.3% of voting age Americans turned out for the presidential election in 2004 - that number being lower among young people. As polls show young people more open to the idea of online voting, there is an opportunity to bring this oft-absent group into the process.

Handicapped - In 2004, only 14% of polling stations were handicap accessible. There are certain special advantages for being able to vote from home.

The bad:

Discrimination - “In March, Arizona Democrats used the Internet for the first time to cast ballots in a legally binding election in that state’s presidential primary race. Nearly 40,000 Arizona Democrats cast online ballots in the polling conducted by Garden City, New Jersey-based Election.com. A voter group tried to stop the election with a lawsuit on behalf of a Hispanic woman and an African-American man, charging the plan discriminated against the poor and minorities.” link

Corruption - “Someone set up a Web auction … to prove that if candidates can sell their votes to companies, why shouldn’t individuals receive money for their votes,” the Internet Policy Institute’s Cheney said. “The challenge in selling votes is to prove you voted. With online voting, you can record your vote and get paid for it,” he said. link

Symbolic - “Around the world, people struggle and die for the right to vote, just as people in this country once did. If you’ve ever seen the once-disenfranchised standing in line all day to cast the first ballot of a lifetime in South Africa or Guatemala, it’s hard not to be appalled at how cavalierly people treat voting in this country. It’s tempting to say that anyone unwilling to sacrifice an hour to exercise the right to vote doesn’t much deserve it. Having to take a bit of trouble to vote reminds you that voting is the cornerstone of all our rights.” link

Security - From Avi Rubin Johns Hopkins professor and expert on technology and voting: “Given the current state of insecurity of hosts and the vulnerability of the Internet to manipulation and denial of service attacks, there is no way that a public election of any significance involving remote electronic voting could be carried out securely.”

The hesitance around online voting seems warranted, and the careful rollout of this process into small pilot programs seems prudent. Certainly any technology that offers to bring more people into the political process must be given careful consideration, and we feel it is very positive to see this debate happening publicly.

The Glassbooth Facebook application is live!!!

We will be working this week to see if we can include Mr. Nader in the Glassbooth quiz process.