2004 Election Candidate Comparison Search by PriceGrabber

16 Sep 2004

Having created similarly styled candidate comparisons for the 2000 and 2002 elections, PriceGrabber expanded its approach this year by partnering with USC’s Center for E-Government director and noted professor, Gregory G. Curtin, Ph.D, JD. His team gathered non-partisan information about candidates with the goal to inform voters of their options and encourage participation in this year’s elections. This comprehensive research on all presidential, senatorial and gubernatorial races in the November elections was then integrated with PriceGrabber’s comparison technology resulting in an easy-to-navigate, easy-to-use service for the public to make instant and detailed side-by-side comparisons of candidates.

Voters can search for candidates using a variety of criteria. Information includes candidates’ stances on a number of topical issues such as abortion, gun control, the war in Iraq, capital punishment and same-sex marriage. PriceGrabber’s comparison technology makes it easy to view candidates side-by-side and see clearly how they compare.

“People are accustomed to using the Internet for research, and it’s natural that they will look online to examine political candidates,” said Gregory Curtin, director at USC’s Center for E-Government. “PriceGrabber’s comparison engine enables voters to rapidly identify and compare candidate positions on issues in high profile races. PriceGrabber’s Election 2004 candidate comparison engine offers these decision-making details in a convenient format that makes research simple.”

In addition to candidates’ positions on popular issues, PriceGrabber provides detailed biographical information on candidates, including age, religion, previous jobs and contact information for their campaign headquarters. Using figures reported from the Center for Responsive Politics, PriceGrabber also presents voters with a summary of how much money has been raised and spent on the campaigns along with what percentage of these funds was contributed by political action committees (PACs).