U.S. Chamber Rallies Voters Across Ohio

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Chamber of Commerce has launched a massive voter education and registration drive across Ohio today in advance of the state's primary elections next week.

"Our goal is turn out every single pro-business voter in the state, and we think we have the tools to do it," said Bill Miller, Chamber vice president and political director. "As elections have grown more competitive in recent years, voter education and mobilization is critical."

Partnering with the Ohio state chamber and other local chamber affiliates in the state, the U.S. Chamber sent initial educational emails to more than 1.8 million eligible voters in Ohio and began running web advertisements to spur visits to OhioBusinessVotes.com, a U.S. Chamber-supported voter education site. Those who sign up on the site gain access to in-depth analysis of congressional races in their area as well as standard information on voter registration, polling sites, and early/absentee ballots.

The Chamber will use traffic to OhioBusinessVotes.com to build a database of voters to target with further political activities—such as phone calls, direct mail, and door-to-door campaigning—as the state's general elections draw closer. The Ohio strategy follows a successful Get-Out-the-Vote model the Chamber used in South Dakota during the 2004 elections that helped result in the defeat of then Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

In 2004, 409 corporations, chambers of commerce, and trade associations nationwide participated in VoteForBusiness, the Chamber's voter education program, which reached 40 million voters that year. The Chamber's effort in Ohio this year is part of its goal to build on those numbers for the 2006 mid-term elections.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation, representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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