AARP is taking action to arm its 35.2 million members with tools to hold candidates accountable in the upcoming elections.

"Our members are tired of broken promises to lower skyrocketing drug costs and to provide drug coverage in Medicare," said AARP CEO Bill Novelli. "We're taking steps to help them do something about it."

The initiative includes:

• AARP's first-ever national voter education television campaign, putting a fresh, sharp focus on the need for a Medicare drug benefit and the importance of Social Security;
• A new Medicare prescription drug pledge we are asking candidates to sign, promising to enact a benefit that is voluntary, stable, and affordable in 2003. The names of candidates who do—and don't—agree to sign the Medicare drug pledge will be made public;
• Up-to-date voter guides detailing where candidates stand on issues important to older Americans;
• A comprehensive website at www.aarp.org/election2002 that provides localized information on state and national races all across the country;
• Numerous candidate forums across the country where older voters can get answers to their questions directly from the candidates;
• And, phone banks making more than 500,000 telephone calls to get out the vote on Election Day.

"These tools will help the nation's most active voters learn the facts before they vote and hold those they elect to their campaign promises," said Novelli.

AARP issues are already resonating with the candidates, as Social Security and Medicare are crucial questions in many states. "Older voters participate in elections at a higher rate than any age group. In mid-term elections, where overall voter numbers are low, the percentage of older voters casting ballots is even higher," said AARP Director of Grassroots and Elections Kevin Donnellan.

Donnellan noted that in the last mid-term elections in 1998, more than 60 percent of the voters were 45 or over. More than 70 percent of AARP members typically vote, he added.

"In tight races, AARP members could decide who goes to Washington and who stays home," Donnellan said. He said AARP will make over 500,000 calls to get out the vote. In addition, more than 8.5 million AARP voters' guides have been mailed out, he noted.

AARP is also undertaking its first Election Day polling, where voters in selected districts will be asked about the defining issues that influenced their votes. "This poll is not a horse race to the finish like traditional exit polls," Donnellan explained. "It will measure how voters ranked the issues and will signal to those elected to Congress what priorities they face when they come to Washington in January."

Voters are already making it clear to candidates what their priority issues are. AARP has hosted candidate forums in all 50 states and will hold more than 20 additional events before November 5. "These forums connect our members with the candidates and really give them an opportunity to exchange ideas and to talk about the issues in more detail than a 30 second sound bite or a campaign brochure," Donnellan added.

But most visible over the next two weeks will be a heavy AARP television advertising schedule with powerful get-out-the-vote messages aimed at voters age 50 and above. The ads focus on Medicare drug coverage and Social Security, another issue that is grabbing voters' attention.

In some of the new AARP spots, Social Security takes center stage with the message, "After all you've done to earn a paycheck, make sure some of it will be there when you retire. Know where the candidates stand on the future of Social Security and vote."

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people 50 and over. It provides information and resources; advocates on legislative, consumer, and legal issues; assists members to serve their communities; and offers a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for its members. These benefits include AARP Webplace at http://www.aarp.org/, Modern Maturity and My Generation magazines, the monthly AARP Bulletin, and Segunda Juventud, a quarterly, bilingual newspaper. Active in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP celebrates the attitude that age is just a number and life is what you make it.

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