As election day approaches in the US, with control of both houses of the Congress and a majority of state governors` mansions hanging in the balance, many voters are turning to the Internet to help them make an informed choice.
With so much at stake on Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats have been jockeying for months on a variety of issues ranging from national security to Iraq and the economy. While most polls suggest that next week`s mid-term election could see any of a number of close races determining the balance of power in Congress, busy voters must often look to the media to sort out these thorny issues and learn about candidates.
On average one of every two people in North America and Europe use the Internet compared with far fewer users in the developing world, according to United Nations statistics. Experts say that such a digital divide also exists within the US between younger and older generations as well as between the social classes.
"The digital divide has created a political divide, meaning that Web users are more informed than ever in history with the wealth of information out there," says Bruce Cain, professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. "Then you have a less connected group of people who are basically getting no information or only getting their information from the local television news.
"You almost have two nations - a nation of the politically engaged and a nation of people who are only peripherally involved or interested in politics. The TV is still an easier way to get your information and as a consequence, the more marginal voter is going to depend on the TV."
But major media outlets have slowly learned that the Web is not to be feared, but can be co-opted. As technology has improved and proliferated, television and radio outlets have come around to using Web sites to supplement their respective broadcasts. Audio and video news clips are now a regular staple of Internet browsing.
Since the advent of the Internet, when it was feared that the Web page might replace the printed page, many newspapers have even seen their circulation figures increase.
Library at the fingertips
While radio and television are still very pervasive media, voters who use the Internet have the advantage of a vast, interactive library of information at their fingertips.
Nowadays, any candidate for national office without a Web site would be seen as a technophobe or a Luddite. With the Internet, voters can assess a candidate or incumbent`s views on key issues as well as their voting records.
Every branch of the federal government is accessible on the net, while each member of Congress also has his or her own Web site accessible through the main sites of the Senate (http://www.senate.gov) or the House of Representatives (http://www.house.gov).
E-mails to members of Congress now far outnumber the amount of letters sent by constituents via regular mail.
Local governments have been slower to come around to the technology, often due to budget constraints or lack of know-how. But it is still possible to find voting hours, instructions and election results on state government sites.
As for when voting in a US election via the Internet might become a reality, it is difficult to say. With security concerns and divergent views on election reform in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election scandal in Florida, Americans might just have to settle for improved technology at the voting booth instead.
In the area of public policy, the Internet gives non-profit and public interest groups an open forum to express their views. Anti-abortion groups do battle with abortion rights groups online as do gun rights advocates and supporters of gun control. Simple searches on Internet portals will yield an array of sites dedicated to such causes.
Even powerful lobbyists and political action committees who have long been reputed to prefer back-room dealings to the public nature of the World Wide Web are getting into the act.
The Web also offers a much wider spectrum of political opinion than is available on advertising-driven radio or television.
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