Minnesota e-Democracy has since given birth to three other virtual communities based in the vicinity of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Duluth, about 150 miles north. The banter on the often impassioned network covers regional hot buttons--everything from a ballot initiative on tax subsidies for developers of the Minnesota Twins' new stadium to the closing of the Edison Charter School in Duluth.
While the public kvetching has yet to register more than a blip on the radar screens of many state and local leaders, the forums have proved to be an important marketplace of ideas. They have educated participants about the complexities of local issues and given tech- savvy state and city leaders a heads up about problems before they escalate into full-blown controversies.
Minnesota's nascent electronic electorate piqued my interest in a new wave of political-information portals making their debut in the wake of the first Internet-era presidential primaries. These portals--both commercial and otherwise--try to offer citizens a one-stop shopping experience where they can troll for reliable information about state and local government as easily as they browse online for books, computers or CDs.
Some have aggregated basic voter information, organized it by ZIP code and offer hyperlinks that, for instance, enable a resident of Boston to register a car with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and e-mail Mayor Tom Menino from the same Web site. Others provide Web-based tools to inform citizens about the ballot questions, campaign issues and political races that shape the policy agenda in their states and local communities. The nonpartisan Democracy Network for example, last fall permitted voters in 21 state and local elections to participate in a floor debate with candidates via an interactive grid online. In Baltimore, 2,500 visitors tuned in to DNet to read responses from mayoral candidates Martin O'Malley and David Turtoro to eight questions, ranging from the city's drug problems to mass transit to increasing accountability and quality in the public schools.
In the 1998 California gubernatorial primary, with virtually no publicity, DNet broadened the discussion in the state's single televised debate from nine issues among four front-runners to 35 issues and 17 candidates. DNet is sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies and the League of Women Voters.
What's significant about DNet and other such sites is the possibilities they offer average citizens for a direct pipeline to the electoral process. "It lets the voter be in charge of the impression they receive from a candidate rather than having the scope set by the size of a campaign media budget," says DNet President Tracy Westen. Statements on the network are multilingual and will soon be available in both an audio and video format, Westen adds.
To be sure, a recent discussion on DNet read more like a hackneyed campaign brochure than a substantive issues forum. Yet even in this early stage, the novelty of a mouse-to-mouse public policy debate from the convenience of a family-room PC presents an intriguing prospect for people who care about their state and local government and want to make a difference.
And for those who don't care--which seems to be the fastest-growing segment of the general population--the Internet may help remedy the disenchantment that has pushed citizen participation in voting to historic lows. Turnout at the ballot box has dropped significantly in the decades since 18-year-olds got the vote. Thus, in Iowa, which piloted non-binding Internet voting in eight municipal precincts this past November, Secretary of State Chet Culver has made it a personal crusade to use the Internet to mobilize Generation X-ers. Perhaps young people will be more comfortable casting ballots with a mouse and modem than going into a voting booth and closing the curtain, as Culver, a former high school history and government teacher, theorizes.
Most probably, there are other, deeper reasons why citizens of all ages are turned off by the political process. But if the Internet can create a marketplace that focuses people's attention on the issues and policies that affect their lives, then the product we know as government will undoubtedly benefit.
