The Guardian's campaign to target undecided voters in a key swing state in the US presidential elections has attracted more than 10,000 responses, as well earning the ire of the conservative media.
By 6pm yesterday, 11,658 people had contacted the newspaper from around the world, after it encouraged readers in Britain to write with their thoughts on the election to voters in Clark county, Ohio. In the 2000 election, George Bush lost the county by 1% - equivalent to 324 votes.
The Guardian promised to give emailers the names and addresses of unaffiliated voters, from a list purchased from electoral officials. In its launch article on Thursday, it urged: "Remember that it's unusual to receive a lobbying letter from someone in another country."
The paper will match voters with only one reader. No voter should get more than one letter.
Most of the requests for addresses came from Britain, but some arrived from elsewhere, including France, China, Brazil, Eritrea and the US.
Ian Katz, the Guardian's features editor, said: "For millions of people around the world, this election will have far more of an impact on our lives than even elections in their own country, and this is a way for non-Americans to have some say."
He said the article that launched the campaign was neutral: it provided contact details for the conservative Christian Coalition and the liberal National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "But it is no secret we are a centre-left newspaper and that our readers are likely to be pro-Kerry."
The campaign has been picked up by the US media. The speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, has called for the Capitol Hill press accreditation to be withdrawn from the paper's Washington correspondents.
Linda Rosicka, the director of the board of elections in Clark county, confirmed that the Guardian had obtained the 85,000-name voter file legitimately. "We sell the information; it's public record," she told the Newhouse news agency.
