Dear editor,

I enjoyed your article “Web sites playing integral role in campaigns.” It correctly pointed out that huge numbers of voters will be using the Internet this year to learn about campaigns and political issues – a major shift.

The article could have added that, among younger voters, the numbers will be even higher. A national poll conducted this summer by the respected non-profit organization Project Vote Smart found that fully 70% of young potential voters between the ages of 18-25 identify the Web as their single most useful source for political information.

Your article recommended several political Web sites. May I recommend another? The Advocates for Self-Government is a Georgia-based non-profit non-partisan libertarian educational organization that I have been involved with for many years. The centerpiece of the Advocates Web page is an automated feature, “The World’s Smallest Political Quiz.” This Quiz asks you ten short questions on national political issues. It then instantly plots your political leanings on a “new political map” that is far more accurate and inclusive than the old (and woefully inadequate) left-right/liberal-conservative division of politics.

The Quiz is fast, accurate, and eye-opening. Hundreds of high school and college classes use it to stimulate student discussion on politics. The Quiz has been given positive reviews by such top reviewers as Congressional Quarterly, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Internet World, Lycos, Magellan, and many, many more. The Quiz has been reprinted in books, magazines, and newspapers, and has been given over the air on talk radio shows (Atlanta’s Neal Boortz scored “Libertarian;” Rush Limbaugh, naturally, scored “Conservative.”)

You can take the Quiz at www.self-gov.org. Around 750,000 people have done so since May 1996.

Those who don’t have Web access can call the Advocates for a free cardstock version of the Quiz: 1-800-932-1776.

The Advocates has distributed over 4 million of these Quiz cards since the organization created it in 1987.

Sincerely,

James W. Harris

(1999 -- not sure whether or not it was published)