Alaska outposts vote online
Internet voting got a chilly response in its Alaska debut. Just 35 people cast ballots online Jan. 24 in the state's Republican primary straw poll. Considering that 56 people were registered to vote online, the turnout wasn't terrible. It's the registration drive that was disappointing: 35,000 people were eligible.
Internet voting got a chilly response in its Alaska debut. Just 35 people
cast ballots online Jan. 24 in the state's Republican primary straw poll.
Considering that 56 people were registered to vote online, the turnout wasn't
terrible. It's the registration drive that was disappointing: 35,000 people
were eligible.
According to Christy Adkinson, director of marketing for VoteHere.net, the
Internet voting company that sponsored the straw poll, the GOP didn't promote
the event enough. To participate in the online vote, Alaskans had to fill
out a form mailed to them by the party, and only 56 rural residents followed
through. "People either had not received the mailing or they threw them
away thinking they were junk mail," Adkinson said.
If nothing else, the poll proved that George W. Bush is the clear winner
with the dogsled set, garnering 23 online votes. John McCain took second
place with six, Steve Forbes snared four, and Alan Keyes had two.
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