The Net gets out the vote

High tech pushes the evolution of the election process as voter study guides proliferate online and election sites easily handle the results. Silicon Valley executives increasingly make donations to candidates that favor the tech industry. But Election Day on the Web isn't without its pitfalls, as demonstrated by ABCNews.com's mistaken posting of "complete" election results one day too soon.

Election sites avoid gridlock update Unlike the bandwidth-taxing posting of the Starr report or John Glenn's space shuttle lift-off, election sites easily handle the surprising results. Net helps voters cram update Voters who haven't studied the issues for the general election can find some hefty cheat sheets on the Net. Election site jumps the gun Thanks to an embarrassing snafu, voters across the country could have learned who won the election--before the votes were ever cast. Tech's elite pony up Political contributions by the technology elite are on the rise, another sign that Silicon Valley is waking up to the world of politics.