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Cable offers voters candidate interviews on demand

Friday, Oct. 20, 2006

Beginning today, Comcast digital subscribers will be able to use their remotes to watch interviews with candidates for county, state and federal offices whenever they want with the company’s On Demand service.

The cable company interviewed 284 candidates on camera in races at every level in the areas of Maryland where they provide service, said spokeswoman Lisa Altman. The company had invited 416 candidates, but not every candidate participated.

Comcast has 1.5 million customers in Maryland with more than 60 percent subscribing to digital cable, Altman said.

Viewers may access the interviews through the ‘‘Candidate On Demand” feature. There is no charge.

Zach P. Messitte, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary’s College in St. Mary’s City, said it is always better when voters have access to good information about candidates.

‘‘The bottom line is, this is something that sounds like a good thing that may take a couple of election cycles to hook on to and become part of voter education,” Messitte said. ‘‘Ten years ago the question would have been, ‘There are voter profiles on the Internet. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?’”

But with technology today providing more information about a candidate’s positions and past votes, Messitte said, the only issue is if it could create a gap between voters with access to the Internet and digital cable over those who do not.

Just as the number of people with access to the Internet has grown over the past 10 years, Messitte said, the number of people with digital cable will probably grow over the next ‘‘two or three election cycles.”