About VoteACC.org

VoteACC exists to help voters in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia make their own informed choices on election day. It strives to provide an unbiased collection of information on candidates, ballot referendums, elected positions, and general electoral process information. It is a supplement to the ACC’s Board of Elections and is in no way meant to be a replacement of it.

VoteACC is an unbiased clearinghouse of biased data. None of the content posted is original to the site, but instead all the information comes from external sources, most of which are clearly biased. For instance, links to candidates' campaign websites are obviously biased towards the candidates, news articles have the bias of the writers and editors, and information on the www.AthensClarkeCounty.com website is generally biased towards the local incumbents and referenda. Technically (and unfortunately), there is no way to eliminate all bias, which is inherent in any exchange of information.

VoteACC simply strives to give voters easy accessibility to the data that has already been graciously published by those “nearer and dearer” to the issues and candidates than they are. In some cases there may not be fair representation of every side of a referendum, and there is almost never the same amount of representation for each side of an issue. The electorate must still do the work required to be a well-informed, responsible voting populous, and it is neither an easy or quick process.

The motivation for VoteACC comes from the lack of readily accessible information on local candidates. There are several websites that provide information on candidates at the national and state levels, but that kind of help is rare at the city/ county level, the case in point being Athens-Clarke County.

We hope the site helps you to better vote your conscience. Please let us know if there is anything in particular you would like to see on the site that is not already posted. You can email us at postmaster@voteacc.org.

Supporters

VoteACC would like to sincerely thank all its supporters, and particularly:

	Cora Wright at ACC's Board of Elections
	Ann Allen and Charly Pou at UGA's Carl Vinson Institute of Government
	Miranda Compton's '05 - '06 1st period 7th grade class at W. R. Coile Middle School
	Super District 9 Commissioner Tom Chasteen (see how he helped local students)
	The Flagpole (see the letter they published in their October 25, 2006 edition)
And all Athens-Clarke County elected officials who volunteered their time to fill out a position description questionnaire including: Magistrate Court Judge Patricia Barron State Court Judge Kent Lawrence Chief Superior Court Judge Lawton Stephens Coroner Bobby Tribble Mayor Heidi Davison District 8 Commissioner States McCarter District 9 Commissioner Tom Chasteen School District 1 Commissioner Denise Mewborn School District 5 Commissioner Jacqueline Saindon Tax Commissioner Nancy Denson Sheriff Ira Edwards

Already excited about the next elections?

Help ACC voters get ready for the 2008 elections. In the off-season, VoteACC will be gearing up by building a base of answers to electoral process questions. You can help by posting questions, answering questions, or answering your own posted questions :) Go to the forum to get started.

Help Support VoteACC

VoteACC.org is the 2004 brainchild of Richard and Katrina Conway, and it is still in its infancy. It is a grassroots movement, and as such, it is not supported with government funds. VoteACC is not an expensive endeavor, but the time commitment needed to make it successful is not only copious but also instensely focused during the election season. A first priority is to develop a support group that is willing to help during this election season.

There is a need for those who use the internet to keep up with the newspapers, local board meeting minutes, advocacy group ratings, etc … and will notify the VoteACC site designers when appropriate content has been published. There is also a need for web developers who will enter the new links as they are identified. The amazing technological innovation is that the two groups can be one in the same. Skeptical? Read on.

The website has been implemented using Microsoft’s ASP.NET Community Starter Kit. The design is very advanced in its coding, but that is precisely what allows it to be user-friendly in its administration. Its main advantage is that it can be updated by casual internet users who are not familiar with the details of developing websites (but who are knowledgeable of the content that needs to be on the site). VoteACC site administration is as easy as being able to use a basic word processor!

If you are willing to help in any capacity, please email Richard Conway at richard@voteacc.org. You are also encouraged to sign the guestbook and leave any comments.