August 21, 2008

Purple Vote Smart bus stops in San Jose

Project Vote Smart’s 45-foot purple bus, equipped with a movie theater and computer terminals with free Web access stopped at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library last Sunday allowing visitors to climb aboard and experience the online system that complements the project’s printed Voter Self-Defense Manual and their toll-free information hotline: 1-888-Vote-Smart. Visitors were given tutorials on how to get the most out of visiting Project Vote Smart’s Web site and using the free resources.

The Vote Smart bus, which stopped recently in San Jose, headed south to visit Los Angeles and San Diego before heading east on the final leg of its tour that will end in Washington, D.C. in time for the November elections.

Project Vote Smart is a national research organization founded by national leaders such as Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, John McCain and Geraldine Ferraro. It is funded entirely through foundation grants and the individual contributions of 45,000 members. They provide information through their hotline (1-888-Vote-Smart) and Web site (www.votesmart.org) with a view to encouraging critical thinking and development of a more well-informed voter population.

The database, accessed through the project Web site, provides online access to information on more than 40,000 candidates at all levels of government, including campaign finance data, biographical information, voting records, issue positions, special interest groups’ ratings, candidate speeches and public statements, and contact information. The project took 16 years and the efforts of 6,000 volunteers to complete.

The bus headed south to visit Los Angeles and San Diego before heading east on the final leg of its tour that will end in Washington, D.C. in time for the November elections.