Election 2004

National Voter, Jan-Feb, 2004

DemocracyNet (DNet), a new collaboration of the LWVUS and Capitol Advantage, was re-launched in January; go to www.dnet.org. DNet is presented through Capwiz (used by many of the most highly trafficked Internet sites, such as America Online, Yahoo, MSN, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, C-SPAN and Congress.org). Contact your state League for their 2004 DNet plans.

Aiding our efforts to register two million more in 2004, LWVUS now offers citizens a simple online process for voter registration (or change in registration) in both English and Spanish. Voters can go directly to www.lwv.org/ voter/register.html; complete the form; print it out; and mail it in.

Smackdown Your Vote! (SYV!) continues to build momentum. Through SYIA the League created and distributed to every League a public service announcement (PSA) starring President Kay Maxwell. This PSA capitalizes on the "star power" of World Wrestling Entertainment's talent and the League's reputation as the trusted source for voter information. In early February, SYV! unveiled a Youth VIP (Voter Issues Paper) highlighting those issues that touch America's youth most deeply.

Two PSAs in Spanish are being produced by Telemundo Channel 64 for the Washington Metropolitan area. LWVUS Deputy Executive Director Zaida Arguedas assisted Telemundo. The PSAs will air in March. Arguedas also did two live interviews in Spanish for local news in late 2003. A third live interview is scheduled for February.

The new League VOTE Brochure, a step-by-step guide to voting in English and Spanish, was published in January (ad on p. 17). Choosing the President 2004 has been out since October 2003 (ad on p. 17). The second edition of Navigating Election Day will be available on the League Web site in early 2004.

As the Voter goes to press, LWVUS has taken advantage of an opportunity, spearheaded by Board Member Xandra Kayden, to sponsor a Democratic presidential primary debate on February 22, 2004, in Los Angeles, CA. Several factors might affect this event going forward, but current plans are for the debate to be broadcast on KNBC and made available to all other media nationwide. This would be the first LWVUS sponsored Presidential primary debate since 1992.

The League of Women Voters is working with HBO to promote their new movie, "Iron Jawed Angels," debuting in February. "Iron Jawed Angels" takes a contemporary look at a small segment of the suffragist movement in the period just prior to passage of the 19th Amendment.