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A cyberspace petition collecting e-mailed signatures of people urging U.S. presidential candidate Ralph Nader to endorse Vice President Al Gore is not having the intended effect, but it is an interesting snapshot of digital democracy.

"There is no way that Ralph is going to pull out of the race," says Tom Adkins, the Green Party candidate's assistant press secretary. "It is misleading to imply that he might do so. These letters are an annoyance, and don't have any effect on the campaign."

The originator of the letter, the Web site MoveOn, conducted a similar e-mail campaign urging legislators to "move on" beyond the Clinton impeachment. Now, it's taking a similar tactic to try to influence Nader to drop out of the race and prevent a victory by Governor George W. Bush.

The letter was sent to 300,000 people on the MoveOn mailing list and circulated throughout the Internet. "The Nader camp is deeply divided over whether they should endorse Gore--at least in swing states," the digital petition claims. "Many say they never got into the race to play the spoiler."

Adkins denies the claim. "That is completely inaccurate," he says. "They are giving us false information. That is not what is happening here."

Motivation Challenged

MoveOn cofounder Joan Blades says the assertion that the "Nader camp is deeply divided" comes from her own discussions with Nader supporters throughout the country. The statement is not meant to reflect what is happening in the top levels of the campaign, she says.

Adkins differs with the idea that all of Nader's support "comes out of Gore's backside," saying many Nader voters would otherwise ignore the election altogether. The letters originate directly from the Democratic party, he suggests--but he stops short of claiming the Gore campaign is responsible.

Blades, for her part, says she has not contributed any money to the Gore campaign but is instead focusing on several important Senate races.

The letter requests that anyone who sends the message to Nader send a cc: to MoveOn. About 17,000 such responses were received by Tuesday, Blades says.

In any case, the message clogged Nader's campaign e-mail in-box--causing some correspondents to get a "fatal error--mailbox full" message. Nader aide Adkins charges MoveOn of "unethical" behavior by publishing the Nader e-mail and fax numbers.

Opening Digital Dialogue

"This is what elections are all about," Blades responds. "It's who are you going to vote for, and how you can convince the people you know to vote the same way. This is appropriate political dialogue."

The use of e-mail and other digital communications is clearly a facet of this election. All the presidential candidates have Web sites--both official and unofficial, supportive and satirical. The campaigns are also relying on e-mail outreach to varying degrees. (See "Campaigns Dig Digital Dirt.")

Nader shouldn't complain, Blades adds. The people who have joined this e-mail effort agree with and respect the issues Nader has advocated for decades. So if Nader captures these addresses, he will have access to a whole new mailing list.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for him to communicate with the people who believe in the same things as he does," she says. "The people that are sending him this letter respect him and have stood by him through the years. These are people who generally support him, but are questioning the decision he is making by staying in the race."

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