A new Web site launched by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) will let Internet users decide what topics they would most like to hear discussed during the televised presidential debates.

The creators of debates.org specifically hope to spark the interest of 18- to 24-year-olds, a demographic that during the 1998 elections voted in the lowest numbers ever recorded, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Results of surveys on the suggested content of the presidential debates will be turned over to the event’s moderators, who will then make the final decisions on topics to be covered. While event organizers are not promising how many of these suggested topics will appear in the debates, CPD special projects director Heather Balas said she "would be surprised if they survey results weren’t taken into account," the Chronicle reports.

Beyond the special effort for young people, the site will continue to support the ongoing DebateWatch program. DebateWatch was launched in 1996 to get all types of Americans involved in the electoral process by helping them organize as groups meeting in "homes, libraries, community centers, and schools to watch the presidential debates and discuss them," the CPD reports. This year these gatherings are urged to send in their reactions -- through fax or e-mail -- so the organization can compile these reactions and let the media know what the public is saying.

The Web site is powered and designed for free by sponsors including 3Com, AT&T; and Sun Microsystems.

Research firm Harris Interactive created the online polls. It will host chat session following the conclusion of each debate -- an extension of the DebateWatch program -- where Internet users can discuss the candidates’ answers. Users will then be able to register their opinions in a post-debate survey.

Full text of the article is currently found at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/
chronicle/archive/2000/07/28/BU110178.DTL