Arizona Democrats to Hold First Binding Internet Vote

The Arizona Democratic Party plans to allow its members to vote online in the March 11 presidential primary, the first time Internet votes will officially count in a public office election.

The online initiative is designed to boost the number of voters in the primary, which saw numbers slump to less than 10,000 ballots in 1996, said Arizona Democratic Party political director Cortland Coleman.

"We need to get more people out there to vote," Coleman said, adding that at least 40,000 people are expected to take part in the primary.

The Arizona Democratic Party has selected Votation.com to host the online vote for the March 11 presidential primary. The Garden City, N.Y.-based company (www.votation.com) signed a digital contract with the Arizona Democratic Party on Dec. 16 to make the agreement official.

"Votation.com has about 30 employees, and all they do is Internet voting," said party chairman Mark Fleisher. "They are committed to it. And we were convinced that they have the security measures and systems to make this a viable and successful election."