[EM] California Internet Voting Initiative (CIVI) petition

[DEMOREP1 at aol.com]

Initiative Submitted to Legalize Elections on the Internet in California

 
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Internet Voting 
Initiative (CIVI) petition has been submitted to the Attorney General of the 
State of California.  The signatures of 420,000 California voters are needed 
for it to appear on the November 2000 ballot.  If approved, voters will have 
the legal right to cast their ballot over the Internet in the state of 
California for all political elections, including Federal, State, County, 
municipal, and school districts. 

The initiative was drafted by Votation.com, Inc., under the leadership of 
Marc Strassman, Director of Business Development, Political Jurisdictions. 
"Our goal," said Mr. Strassman, "is to empower eligible and concerned voters 
by letting them use for political purposes the same technology they now use 
to buy books, trade securities, chat, and make travel arrangements.  They 
will now be able to vote with greater confidence for government officials 
whom they feel will represent their best interests.  The proven track record 
and ample resources of Votation.com will hasten the arrival of efficient, 
state-of-the-art Internet-based voting." 

The initiative was also reviewed and supported by the Campaign for Digital 
Democracy, an organization which has been working to bring Internet voter 
registration, initiative petition signing, and voting to California since 
1996, when it drafted and circulated the Virtual Voting Rights Initiative, an 
earlier version of the current California Internet Voting Initiative. 

In addition, VeriSign, Inc (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of Internet 
trust services, which was recently named California's first licensed 
Certification Authority (CA), has indicated its full support of the 
initiative.  As the first CA, VeriSign enables legally valid electronic 
communication between citizens and public entities.  "Initiatives like CIVI 
will allow citizens to reap the full benefits of electronic government," said 
Richard Yanowitch, executive vice president, VeriSign. 

The California Internet Voting Initiative (CIVI) will legalize on-line voter 
registration and voting. Copies of the Proposed Initiative are available on 
http://votation.com/political/index.html, http://www.votesite.com/, and 
http://www.verisign.com/.  For more information on VeriSign becoming the 
first licensed CA in CA, visit 
http://www.verisign.com/press/1999/feature/billjones.html. 

Votation.com, Inc. is a global elections services company, which provides 
election services for governments, trade associations, labor unions, school 
districts, credit unions, and corporations using both the Internet and 
traditional paper ballots, telephonic and other mechanical means. 
Votation.com, Inc. is privately held, with headquarters is in Garden City, 
New York.  For more information, visit http://www.votation.com. 

SOURCE  Votation.com, Inc. 

CO:  Votation.com, Inc.; VeriSign, Inc 

ST:  California, New York 

IN:  MLM CPR 

SU: 

11/03/1999 07:00 EST http://www.prnewswire.com