Project Vote Smart, a non-profit and non-partisan organization, made its way to the University on Thursday to help students who had questions about voting, candidates and the results of Tuesday’s primaries.
As many as 100 to 150 students stopped by the group’s table outside the University Center, Project Vote Smart staff member Jon Arnold said. Of the students who stopped by, about 25 watched the film, he said.
A 10-minute film was available for students to learn more about the organization. It provided a glimpse of the work Project Vote Smart volunteers, interns and employees do to ensure that the public has resources available to learn about candidates in a non-partisan way
After the film, Arnold gave an overview of the group’s Web site and the type of information the public can find in their search.
"Anything they say to a newspaper, a magazine, a radio, at a college graduation, in a press conference, at a hearing – anything that just about they ever say, we store on the Website," Arnold said.
Along with a candidate’s statements, the Web site also contains biographical information, voting record, campaign finances, issue positions and interest group ratings. During an election year, the Web site receives an average of 16 million independent hits a day, Arnold said.
Political science junior Alexander Tran said that he decided to join them after he felt moved by watching the introductory film and learning about the group’s efforts.
"I would like to work with them and donate money and try to help them and help other Americans know this Web site so we can help people learn," he said.
Educational psychology graduate student Pat Taylor said he was glad to see the group on campus helping students.
"I think it’s great. It’s fabulous to be able to have a non-partisan source for information…we can make up decisions based on something other than television commercials," he said.
The Web site only contains information about current candidates not previous ones, Arnold said. Information on previous candidates can be accessed by the public through the group’s hotline at 1-888-VOTE-SMART.
"We sort of have to balance the request for information on people no longer in office with the cost of keeping those people live on our server. But, with the hotline all that information is available to our researchers," he said.
Visitors can also find out if their candidates passed PVS’ Political Courage Test. According to the group’s Web site, the test is "a comprehensive national examination of the willingness of candidates to answer questions about their issue inclinations." Candidates are only required to answer 70 percent of the questions to pass.
"We’re not worried about necessarily the answers so much as finding out if they’re willing to answer, if they’re willing to go on the record and say exactly what they would do if elected to office," said Arnold.
Arnold who has been with PVS since September, has directed the bus tours, which have visited 30 states so far and will continue to visit campuses until the elections in November.
Along with Arnold was PVS staff member Clark Taylor who found the group’s message to be a positive one within the University.
"We’ve talked to a lot of professors today and faculty members and handed out internship folders and fliers and stuff like that and we think people are interested and want to be involved," he said.
The group has about 45,000 members, of which 70 percent contribute to the budget. Grants from private foundations are also used.
According to the group’s "Voter’s Self Defense Manual," PVS "does not accept contributions from private corporations, the government or organizations that lobby, support or oppose candidates."
For more information on Project Vote Smart, visit www.votesmart.org.
