February 4, 2000

Harvard Web Site Plumbs the Apathy of the 'Vanishing Voter'

By BIANCA P. FLOYD

Although the news media are lavishing attention on the 2000 presidential campaign, few Americans are thinking much about it, say researchers at Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy.

The center is tracking public opinion about the election with weekly polls of 1,000 American citizens, as part of a project called the Vanishing Voter. The project and the polls seek to develop ways to improve the electoral process and to foster more