It's that time again when the electoral process is in full swing. The major political parties are holding their national conventions. The presidential election is pending. And the public can keep track of the information surrounding the election like never before via the Internet. This time around, the Internet is playing a role in just about every aspect of the political process.
Politicians raise campaign funds through their Web sites.
The parties themselves raise funds and offer news and voter outreach on their sites. State election agencies have online voting guides showing the locations of polling places, the dates and times of elections, and information on how to register to vote. On March 11, the Web crossed the final political frontier when Arizona residents voted in the first official online public election in the United States, the Democratic presidential primary. Although by then, Vice President Al Gore's only real competition had bowed from the race, the lack of choice didn't seem to discourage voters. A whopping 71,952 of this year's votes were cast via the Web.