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
