CANDIDATES ARE USING THE INTERNET TO PLUG INTO ... A WIRED ELECTORATE

Digital citizens' use of technology is having the Net effect of changing
politics, bit by bit

Californians who are plugged into the Internet -- already more than four in
10 registered voters -- are enjoying an unprecedented explosion of
information sources this year as cyber-technology helps to reshape the
electoral process.

With the extraordinary proliferation of sites on the World Wide Web,
Net-savvy voters now can study candidates' stands and ballot propositions,
volunteer time and support, follow campaign reporting and analysis, watch
television commercials and hear speeches.

At the same time, some campaigns are beginning to use the Web to
communicate with voters directly by e-mail and offering political surfers
the opportunity to register to vote or obtain an absentee ballot.

No one is predicting that the exponential increase in the political use of
the Net will have a pivotal impact on outcomes in the 1998 elections. But
the changes the Internet is effecting -- on voters and campaigns alike --
are widely seen as long-lasting and profound.

``It's an empowering tool,'' said Kim Alexander, director of the California
Voter Foundation (www.calvoter.org), one of the first and most
comprehensive election sites on the Web.

``It's giving voters a choice. They can say `No' to the TV ads and the
direct mail. They can go on the Internet and get information from a
variety of sources,'' she said. ``I think that's revolutionary.''

According to Jack Kavanaugh, publisher of Rough and Tumble
(www.rtumble.com), one of the most informative free online political sites,
candidates who fail to click with Net-smart voters run the risk of
appearing out of touch.

``If you have a dorky Web site and you're running for major political
office, you have an image problem,'' he said. ``If you have an engaging Web
site, that will indicate you are someone who should really be looked at.''

To be sure, all Web sites are not created equal.

Some -- like attorney general candidate Bill Lockyer's site
(www.lockyerforag.com) -- are nothing more than e-mail links.

Others -- like U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer's (www.boxer98.org), with order
blanks for ``Boxerware'' clothing and other items, contribution templates,
up-to-date-news and more -- are Java-enriched full-tilt-boogie destinations.

``Everybody knows they have to be there, but nobody knows the full impact
they can have with this new technology,'' said Leslie Goodman, of Strategic
Communications Services, publisher of politicalaccess
(www.politicalaccess.com), one of the most useful political link sites.

In addition to the California Voter Foundation, Rough and Tumble and
political access, Secretary of State Bill Jones' official site
(www.ss.ca.gov) offers a treasure trove of free political information,
including an online ballot pamphlet, voting and registration statistics,
campaign finance data and even live election results.

So dedicated to using the Internet is Jones that he assigned a team of Web
masters to teach nearly two dozen staff members in his office how to design
Web pages.

Tremendous tool

And for true political devotees -- willing to pay significant fees --
McClatchy Newspapers' Capitol Alert (www.capitolalert.com) and the National
Journal's Hotline (www.cloakroom.com/pubs/hotline) are extensive.

Online voters are finding the Internet a tremendous tool.

``It's phenomenal,'' said Lori Christian of Manhattan Beach, who joined
Democrat Jane Harman's campaign (www.janeharmanforgovernor.com) after
hooking up by e-mail. ``From an information standpoint, you can get all the
detail you need, you can find out positions on issues and you can
correspond without taking up too much time.''

Christian, 38, Mac user and mother of two with one on the way, is one of
those whom Jon Katz described in Wired Magazine
(www.hotwired.com/special/citizen) as ``digital citizens (who) embrace
rationalism, revere civil liberties and free-market economics and gravitate
toward a moderated form of libertarianism.''

According to a recent survey of California by the Field Poll, 42 percent of
the state's 14.3 million registered voters use e-mail. Moreover, Field Poll
director Mark DiCamillo estimates about three-fourths of e-mail users are
registered to vote.

These digital citizens -- 77 percent of them white -- are a distinct group.
While 47 percent of California voters are registered Democrats and 37
percent are Republicans, Field's e-mail voters are equally divided at 41
percent each.

More liberals online

Ideologically, however, they are less conservative than their non-Net-savvy
counterparts.

Nearly half the offline voters say they're conservative, 40 percent say
they're middle-of-the-road and only 12 percent call themselves liberal,
according to the Field Poll.

Among online voters, 28 percent say they're conservative, 48 percent say
they're middle-of-the-road and 24 percent say they are liberal.

Online voters are younger, more affluent, more educated and weighted with
males. According to DiCamillo, they're also more likely to read newspapers
and less likely to get their news from television than their non-Net
counterparts.

They're less partisan, less ideological and more independent than their
offline counterparts.

Interestingly, the latest Field Poll found that among all likely voters,
Attorney General Dan Lungren was leading the pack with 24 percent of the
vote, followed by Harman at 17 percent, airline tycoon Al Checchi at 15
percent and Lt. Gov. Gray Davis at 11 percent.

But among online voters, Lungren dropped to 20 percent, Harman rose to 19
percent while Checchi and Davis were tied at 10 percent. ``They're not like
the rest of the public,'' said DiCamillo of the upscale voters who are
digital citizens.

Connecting with these digital citizens is virtually uncharted territory in
political campaigns. One approach being pioneered this political season is
``e-slate,'' a classic slate mailer that will be sent by e-mail to hundreds
of thousands of online voters who, by giving their e-mail addresses to a
variety of political sites, are seen as open to receiving political e-mail.

Robert Barnes of San Francisco's Informed Voter has signed up several
Democratic candidates, including Harman, Cruz Bustamante, Lockyer, Kathleen
Connell, Phil Angelides and Delaine Eastin.

May reach 1 million

``We don't consider it spam,'' Barnes said. ``We're not selling products or
asking for money.'' The mailers will include absentee ballots, polling
place locations and information about the candidates who have paid to be a
part of the slate mailer, he said. The database, under construction now,
may reach 1 million voters ``who have publicly put out their e-mail
addresses.''

Lt. Gov. Gray Davis' campaign manager, Garry South, argues that while the
Web is a tool to augment campaign communications, ``I think you can
overstate the case. I just don't think in the final analysis elections are
going to be won or lost based upon who has the best Web site or who gets
the most hits on their Web site.''

While Harman, Davis (www.gray-davis.com), Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren
(www.lungrenforgovernor.org) and Checchi (www.alchecchi.com) all display
favorably selected news stories about themselves on their sites, only
Checchi includes negative stories about his opponents.

On the other hand, Checchi's site includes a vast array of policy papers on
issues, while Harman's offers Real Video versions of her campaign
commercials but far less by way of substantive positions.

Thus far, only Boxer's site provides visitors a means for making online
contributions using a credit card, a feat that requires expensive, secure
e-trade technology.

Even local candidates have jumped onto the Net. In San Jose's mayoral
contest, all three major candidates -- Ron Gonzales, Pat Dando and Kathy
Chavez Napoli -- have Web pages (www.rongonzales98.com,
www.dandoformayor.com and www.napoliformayor.com). Dando offers campaign
statements in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Napoli's, however, is under
construction.

For Net surfers in search of impartial information, Rough and Tumble --
which its creator, veteran TV journalist Jack Kavanaugh, bills as ``a daily
drive-by on California politics'' -- offers links to important news stories
and commentary, most California newspapers, national publications, public
interest groups and various official sites.

Likewise, politicalaccess provides a vast array of links to media,
political organizations, election sites, government agencies and
subscription services. ``This site is designed for the press corps covering
California elections and consultants attempting to `Wag the Dog, '' Goodman
advises on her home page. But the site is a gold mine.

For those with the resources -- political professionals, newspapers,
lobbyists and legislators -- the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert, which
charges $300 a year, provides unmatched services such as legislative bill
tracking, attorney general's opinions, expert commentary and digests on
virtually every state and federal contest in California.

The Los Angeles Times and KMEX-TV have created ``Power of the Vote''
(www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/POLITICS/KMEXVOTE) as a non-partisan guide to
political participation, including useful information on how to register to
vote and report irregularities. Uniquely, the site offers information in
Spanish and English.

To date, candidates who have unleashed negative attacks on one another on
television have yet to go negative on the Web. Some political specialists,
however, expect that sooner or later the limits of propriety will be tested
on the Internet.

``One of the key calculations candidates should be making is how to talk to
people who are listening,'' said Goodman. ``But if people think the
Internet's best use is to slime voters with negative attack messages,
they're missing the point. People don't like to sign on and find smut mail.''

Alexander of the California Voter Foundation has high hopes.

``We're estimating that there will be a million Californians surfing the
Web for election information this year,'' she said. ``They're more likely
to retain information and to share information. It gives us a chance to
return to a new style of grass-roots campaigning.''