Yahoo! News Launches “Ask America” to Inform and Engage Americans in the November Midterm Elections

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the goal to better inform and engage Americans on the upcoming midterm elections, Yahoo! News, the No. 1 news website, has launched Ask America (http://askamerica.yahoo.com), a new interactive and social website dedicated to the November 2010 elections and the issues that will shape America’s future.

“Millions of people turn to Yahoo! when important events happen”

The site asks Americans to voice their opinions on issues that are playing a role in the midterm elections, including the economy, immigration, national security, energy and environment, culture and media, the courts, the state of the union, and more.

“Millions of people turn to Yahoo! when important events happen,” said Mark Walker, head of Yahoo! News. “Ask America serves a critical role in making those millions of Americans more conscious of the importance of this election and encourages them to be informed on the issues that can affect their country, their states, and their lives.”

Ask America on Yahoo! News encourages visitors to dig deep into the issues that matter to them and to engage in a conversation around those issues. Ask America visitors will be able to:

Select which issues interest them on a national and state level via an array of colored tiles arranged in a wheel-like pattern. The person can spin the issue wheel to select various tiles from the list, thus engaging with polls and other people on each issue.
Read the latest news about these issues.
Take opinion polls related to each issue, and see how other users feel about the issues.
Leave comments supporting their choice or arguing against others’.
Share their comments and information about issues on various social networks.

The site will be refreshed regularly with content that includes tiles/issues, polls, and related news articles updated by Yahoo! News’ staff of seasoned journalists and renowned partners, including Associated Press, Reuters, Time, Politico.com, Huffington Post, and more. Yahoo! News editors will also evaluate topics, trends, and stories that people are interested in and are searching for on Yahoo! Search, and then post relevant articles.

In preparation for the launch of Ask America, Yahoo! News commissioned an independent company to survey awareness of and interest in the midterm elections, along with attitudes and behaviors toward the elections. The survey showed that many people are aware of the midterm elections and the current political leadership, but a staggering number of people are not.

Key findings about the lack of awareness of the midterm elections include:

Over half of those sampled (60 percent) know that the midterm elections are almost upon us. This is fewer than those aware of important TV or sporting events, such as the fall TV season, the Emmys, or the MLB, NFL, or NBA seasons.
Over two-thirds of respondents say that they know who the current vice president is. Just two-fifths can name their local mayor and far fewer their gubernatorial (28 percent) or senatorial (26 percent) candidates.
Fewer Democrats are aware that the midterm elections are happening soon (57 percent versus 68 percent tea party supporters, 67 percent Republicans, and 65 percent Independents).

The Yahoo! News Ask America survey also looked at people’s attitudes and behaviors around the elections and found that the respondents who are affiliated with the tea party are the most interested and active.

Key findings about attitudes and behaviors toward the midterm elections include:

A majority (63 percent) of tea party supporters think the midterms are “very important,” versus just 45 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of Democrats.
Nearly all (91 percent) of the tea party supporters have already given some thought to the elections versus just 70 percent of Democrats.
One third of those surveyed believes that the elections will bring change. Twice as many tea party supporters (60 percent) as Democrats (30 percent) expect change.
Overall, people are feeling more positive than negative about the midterm elections. The predominant emotion is “hope” (41 percent).
The economy is the single most important issue to voters from across the political spectrum: 74 percent say it is “very important”; 39 percent strongly agree that the current state of the economy will play a major role in their voting decision.
Unemployment, health care, taxes, the budget deficit, and education follow in importance. Democrats and Independents place more importance on social issues, energy, and education. Republicans and tea party supporters are concerned more with finance, immigration, gun, crime, and morality issues.
Of those who watch political debates on TV, 82 percent say the debates help their voting decision.

Join the conversation on Ask America: http://askamerica.yahoo.com

Join Yahoo! News / Ask America on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/yahoonews?ref=ts

Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter: http://twitter.com/@yahoonews

Media Assets:

Download the Ask America screenshot here: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4975244048_fc3ca51843.jpg

Download broadcast quality b-roll footage here: https://www.yousendit.com/download/UFVvT2pBMm1samRFQlE9PQ

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! attracts hundreds of millions of users every month through its innovative technology and engaging content and services, making it one of the most visited Internet destinations and a world-class online media company. Yahoo!'s vision is to be the center of people's online lives by delivering personally relevant, meaningful Internet experiences. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).

Survey Methodology

Yahoo! partnered with Ipsos OTX MediaCT to conduct the Ask America Launch survey from July 23, 2010 through July 27, 2010. This online quantitative survey of 2,004 people covered issues related to the upcoming midterm elections: n=1,817 or 91 percent are already registered to vote, plan to register, or plan to keep up with news about the 2010 midterm elections.