TV3 LAUNCHES ?VOTE MATCH IRELAND 2011? AS A KEY PART OF TV3 NEWS? ONLINE ELECTION COVERAGE

TV3 GROUP RELEASE
IMMEDIATE: Tuesday 15th February 2011 

Vote Match is a fun, online interactive quiz where people can match which political party they are closest to, based on their opinions on key election issues.

People answer agree/disagree/open-minded on a series of statements on some of the key issues in the election and then on which issues are most important to them. The users’ answers are compared to the position of each of the main parties on these issues. They are then given a match to which party they are closest to based on their answers.

There is an opportunity to see the reasons behind each result by comparing the user’s answers with those of the parties. There are also paragraphs from each of the parties to explain their position, as well as links for additional information. Results can also be shared on Facebook and Twitter.

Vote Match is a fun, interactive way to encourage debate and involvement in politics and the policies of the parties as we go into the election. It has been used throughout the world as a tool to encourage participation in politics and this is the first time Vote Match has been used in Ireland.

TV3 teamed up with Unlock Democracy in the UK who have run a number of Vote Match projects in the UK, most notably one for the UK General Election last year in which over 1 million people took part. The academic partner on the project was the Politics Department at University College Cork.

Vote match is a fun, interactive quiz which takes about ten minutes to complete and is available at www.tv3.ie/vote2011

Commenting on the launch Stephen Grant, Director of Online at TV3 said: “We are delighted to bring the Vote Match concept to Ireland. It is an accessible, fun interactive way for people to see which parties they are closest to on the issues which are most important to them. It is a great, easy way to aid a better understanding of each party’s policies as we go into this important election for the country.”

Vote Match Ireland Project Coordinator, Matthew Oliver said: “Unlock Democracy is delighted to be running the first ever Vote Match in Ireland alongside our partners TV3 and the University of Cork. Politicians make decisions on issues that affect us all; crime, employment, healthcare, taxation, tuition fees, the list goes on. We hope that Vote Match helps people by giving them easy access to information which is useful to them in making an informed decision at the ballot box, on the issues that matter to them. We hope Vote Match Ireland 2011 will make a big contribution towards educating voters about the issues and parties’ view in the forthcoming election and that this will be the first of many such projects in Ireland.”

ENDS.

For further information:
Maureen Catterson/ Ciara Byrne
TV3 PRESS OFFICE
+353 1 419 3430/ 329
+353 87 7800 737/
+353 87 319 9732
Maureen.catterson@tv3.ie
Ciara.byrne@tv3.ie
publicity@tv3.ie
www.tv3.ie