Web Critique 8

Website Name: Vote Smart www.votesmart.org
Operated By:  Center for National Independence in Politics
Funded By:  Contributions/Donations

            Project Vote Smart is a pretty large-scale organization which exists to inform voters of the views of politicians so that they don’t have to rely on emotional and manipulative campaigning tactics that fail to provide important information to voters.  This organization’s website is very user-friendly. On the home page, there is a prominent video player providing an introduction to the organization, a summary of its services, and a tutorial for the website.  The website has two different interactive tools for voters. One called VoteEasy helps you decide who to vote for in an upcoming election, and the other called Political Galaxy gives a visually appealing avenue for finding information on government leaders searchable by ZIP Code or by name.  I wish that more local politicians were included on the Political Galaxy and VoteEasy. Also, it was a bit annoying that there was no way to easily navigate back to the main site from Political Galaxy. Even hitting the back button did not take me back to the main site. One unique thing about this organization is that they have a phone number you can call at which a researcher will be available to instantly look up information for you. Visitors to the website can also register for myVoteSmart which lets you track changes or additional information on politicians of your choice. It would be helpful if there was actually some information on local officials. It seems that most effort is focused on federal leaders, understandably, however.  There is also a great amount of information for voters available through several links at the bottom of the home page. Something worth noting on a more critical side, is that there are many pop up requests for help (monetary, volunteer, etc.) while on the website. Since almost 95% of their revenue is generated from donations, it is necessary that they request monetary donations and volunteer help. Some site visitors may find this annoying, though. It didn’t really bother me or impede my viewing of the site.