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Election Web sites get the vote
Business builds pages for online campaigns

The Oakland Tribune - Nov, 2, 1999
By Francine Brevetti
Business Writer

LAURIE ANINO KNEW she wanted the controversial golf course in Newark built.

With residents set to vote today on a ballot measure to halt development near the Dumbarton Bridge, Anino wanted to find out more about it. She went to her computer and guessed what the measure's Web site might be.

She typed in "www.NoOnC.com" -- for the side supporting development. She was pleasantly surprised to find the Web site did exist and the argument for development, with photos of the land in question, clearly put forth. There was even a link to the op position's arguments.

Anino then clicked a space indicating her willingness to display a "No on C" banner on her lawn. She'd never volunteered for a political campaign or issue before.

"It was so easy. I didn't need a stamp or an envelope or anything. I just clicked," she recalled.

Anino's ability to find information on the ballot measure so easily is a product of Oakland-based e-Elections.com's attempt to build a business designing election-oriented Web sites. The company, which controls the Web address www.NoOnC.com, helped the anti-Measure C group set up the Web site.

Spun off from Oakland Internet marketing firm MCA Net in July, E-Election s.com sells its Internet expertise to candidates and the sponsors of issue-oriented campaigns. The company designs their Web sites, as it did Newark's www.NoOnC.com.

It plans to attract customers by offering free links to campaign Web ad dresses such as www.YesOn12.com and the like.

E-Elections.com recently registered possible Internet addresses for many typical campaign measures, such as www.YesOnA.com, www.NoOnCrime.com and more than 430 others.

"We're looking at doing grass-roots, small campaigns" and bringing people with similar interests together, said Chris Lavin, chief executive officer for e-Elections.com.

One of the site's most popular pages al lows a citizen to register interest in a par ticular issue -- zoning, for example -- in a particular state. E-mail updates are deliv ered when those issues appear on the Internet.

E-Elections.com so far has only four clients: the Newark campaign, Oakland City Councilmember John Russo (and Lavin's husband) who will run for Oakland's city attorney post in March, and two other hopefuls who have yet to announce their candidacies.

The company offers free Web ad dresses for issue-oriented campaigns. A movement wanting to be heard need only contact e-Elections and ask for a link to www.NoOnB.com, for instance.

Lavin is hoping it will also want her company to design its Web site.

The basic package includes the home page, two e-mail addresses, and the means to manage volunteers and raise funds. More extensive services are avail able for higher prices. Charges are based on the size of the electoral district. The "No on C" campaign paid $500 for its Web presence.

The power of the Internet is being used to serve the political process nationally too. Sites such as Aristotle.org and Politicsonline.com help campaigns line up donors and volunteers as well as keep in touch with voters and constituents.

Aristotle.org, based in San Francisco, just posted online a database of voters who candidates nationwide can tap for their direct mail campaigns.

The use of the Internet for the democratic process has been "candidate driven," said Jay MacAniff, Aristotle.org spokesman. The presidential campaign has attracted $1.24 million in campaign contributions via the Internet as of Sept. 30 for the seven candidates who have re ported their fund-raising results. This is from a total of $116 million raised.

But voters seek out the Internet too. On Oct. 13, public access television featured a panel discussion on the Newark land use debate.

One of the panelists mentioned the Web site designed by E-Elections.com.

Within an hour, 34 people had visited www.NoOnC.com.

"Someday all campaigns will be on the Internet," Lavin said. And because that idea is gaining interest in political circles, parties are now competing to secure Web addresses that stand to be frequently visited.

That's where Lavin, formerly a public relations consultant and a journalist, feels she's got an edge.

"There isn't anybody who has as many (Web site addresses) as we do in the political process," she said, proud of the over 430 issue-oriented Web sites her company has registered.

Registering a Web site address resembles buying property. It establishes a claim.

"When you register (a Web site ad dress), nobody can use that site for two years," she explained. Web addresses -- universal resource locators or URLs -- are registered with URL registries, very much like acquiring a business license.

Although Lavin tried to acquire all the URLs that start "Yes on" or "No on," some of those addresses were already claimed. In some cases, E-Elections had to create an alternate such as www.VoteYesonB.com.

Lavin believes that the Internet will eventually make campaigns "cheaper and more fun" to run.

"We new Internet companies are positioning ourselves so that when people get it (understand the power of the Internet), we'll be there," she said.