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Press Release
21 September 2000
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ICANN Selects
election.com to Conduct One of World's Largest All-Internet Votes
More Than 76,000 Registered Members from Around
the World to Cast Their Votes Online in First ICANN Vote
Marina del Rey, CA and Garden City, NY, September
21, 2000 - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN), the technical coordination body for the Internet, and election.com,
a leading global Internet election company, announced today that election.com
will conduct ICANN's first worldwide online vote. ICANN's At-Large
Members will choose five Directors for the ICANN Board in one of
the world's largest all-Internet votes to date.
Since this is ICANN's first online vote, we needed a company that could
provide assurance of reliable security for the balloting as well as
experience in working with a diverse, global online membership," said
Esther Dyson, Chairman of the ICANN Board. "Among the several voting
system proposals we considered, we were impressed by election.com's
track record and international experience, and its commitment to security.
In addition, election.com was willing to work with us on a process
unprecedented in its geographic breadth. Overall, election.com
was simply the best match for ICANN's needs."
ICANN's At-Large Membership program
is intended to allow Internet users from all over the globe to have
a voice in ICANN's technical policymaking structure for the Internet's
domain name and numbering systems.
Through a worldwide online vote, ICANN's At Large Members will choose
five Directors for the ICANN Board, one from each of the five geographic
regions (Africa, Asia/Australia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean,
and North America). More than 76,000 Internet users around the world
have become At-Large members of ICANN, and are eligible to vote over
a 10-day voting period from October 1-10, 2000.
"As the premier global Internet elections company, election.com
is proud to be working with ICANN-- the technical coordination body
for the Internet with members around the world," said Mel Schrieberg,
President and COO, election.com. "election.com has a long
list of satisfied customers, from the Arizona Democratic Party and the
Democratic National Committee to the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit
Union. We look forward to working with ICANN to make their first online
vote an unquestionable success."
As part of the ICANN At Large Membership process, election.com
will provide a secure login system and a voting response and tabulation
system. The voting system will be available to members in multiple languages,
and voters will be able to use the system on a 24-hour basis to accommodate
busy schedules and different time zones.
election.com has conducted several global elections for clients
with members located around the world, including the Sierra Club and
the United Nations Federal Credit Union. election.com is currently
conducting elections for the IEEE Computer Society, the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, the American Pharmaceutical Association,
the Institute of Food Technologists and the Alliance for Continuing
Medical Education. In addition, the company recently secured contracts
to conduct elections for the American Society for Microbiology and the
State Bar of Georgia.
Contacts
Andrew McLaughlin
ICANN
310.823.9358
Jason Howard
election.com
516.248.7502
About ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a
technical coordination body for the Internet. Created in October 1998
by a broad coalition of the Internet's business, technical, academic
and user communities, ICANN is assuming responsibility for a set of
technical functions previously performed under the US government contract
by IANA and other groups. As a non-profit, private-sector corporation,
ICANN is dedicated to preserving the operational stability of the Internet;
to promoting competition; to achieving broad representation of global
Internet communities; and to developing policy through private-sector,
bottom-up, consensus-based means.
For information on ICANN At Large membership process, including the
nominees, schedule, rules, and the online Question & Answer Forum, see
http://members.icann.org
About election.com
election.com Inc., the leading global Internet election company,
provides public- and private-sector election services for governments,
associations, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, school districts,
credit unions, pension funds and corporations around the world. Committed
to broadening voter participation in the democratic process, election.com
also provides online voter registration services that enable U.S. citizens,
whether they live in the country or abroad, to request an absentee ballot
and register to vote online. Named one of the top 50 privately held
companies by Red Herring magazine, election.com is headquartered
in Garden City, N.Y., and has offices in Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas;
London; Paris; Sydney, Australia; and Christchurch, New Zealand.
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