Contact: Jim Jatkevicius

Boise Public Library

Main Library

208-562-4032

Fax: 208-384-4021

jjatkevicius@cityofboise.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –

Boise Public Library Helps Voters Vote Smart

(Boise, Idaho – 9/10/08) Boise Public Library is partnering with Project Vote Smart during September and October to bring factual, unbiased information to voters about candidates for public office.

Library users can find copies of the Project’s “Voter’s Self-Defense Manual” at the Main Library downtown, and can access the Vote Smart database at over 100 public-use computers at three Boise Public Library locations. These resources provide an independent source of accurate information on candidates, their positions and voting records.

The 2008 Voter’s Self-Defense Manual provides contact information for members of the U.S. Congress, plus a “key votes” record, interest group ratings and campaign contribution records. The Vote Smart database - www.votesmart.org - includes biographical information and interest group ratings on the candidates, voting records, issue positions and public statements, plus links to voter registration information, ballot measures, and more.

Established as a non-partisan voter education program in 1992, Project Vote Smart collects information on 40,000 candidates for public office, including the President of the United States, Congress and state and local elected officials. This information is combined into a set of informational tools to assist voters in making informed, responsible decisions.

For more information about Project Vote Smart, call the Main Library at 384-4076. Boise Public Library operates full-service libraries at three locations: the Main Library, at 715 South Capitol Boulevard in downtown Boise; the Library! at Collister, in the Collister Shopping Center at Collister and State Streets; and the Library! at Hillcrest, in the Hillcrest Shopping Center at Orchard Street and Overland Road.

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