2/25: Kim Alexander (w/Prof. David Dill) - CIS/SLATA Speaker Series

February 25, 2008 12:45 pm to 1:45 pm

Kim Alexander is president and founder of the California Voter Foundation (CVF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing the responsible use of technology in the democratic process. Through her work with CVF, Alexander has engaged in a variety of issues where democracy and technology intersect, working to ensure that democracy is enhanced, rather than harmed through technological changes.

Under Alexander’s leadership, CVF has pioneered and promoted good technology and democracy practices and programs that benefit California voters while also serving as an example for other states. The effectiveness of this strategy has been repeatedly demonstrated throughout the eleven years Alexander has led the organization, with other states following California’s lead in online voter education, Internet disclosure of money in politics and voting technology reform.

Alexander is the author of several articles and publications, including CVF’s California Voter Participation Survey report, a comprehensive analysis of California voter participation barriers and incentives, and Voter Privacy in the Digital Age, a nationwide, 50-state assessment of voter registration data gathering and dissemination practices.

Kim Alexander is a 1988 graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, with degrees in political science and philosophy. She is a fifth-generation Californian, was raised in Culver City, and resides in Sacramento.
There is no question that computers, the Internet and technology have had a significant impact on the political process. Technological advancements have brought many changes, some of which have enhanced democracy and public participation, and others that have negatively impacted the public's interest.

For the past fifteen years, Kim Alexander has been on the front lines of the digital democracy revolution. Through the California Voter Foundation, a nonprofit she founded, Alexander works at the forefront of numerous public policy issues where democracy and technology intersect.

Her talk at Stanford will review several of these issues, such as the movement toward Internet access to campaign finance data, the escalation of computer technology in the voting process, and the increasing use of voters' personal data by political campaigns.

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