From: Mike Dugger <cartero@nguworld.com>

Maricopa County Libertarian Party             Contact: Ernest Hancock
                                                         602-828-1819

                       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                         February 11, 2000

         Representative Steve May to Recommend Appointment of 
         Libertarian to Governor's Committe on Privacy Issues

In an interview on radio station KFYI's Jim Sharpe show last night
Republican Representative Steve May agreed to recommend the 
appointment of Libertarian John Buttrick to Governor Jane Hull's 
special committee on data privacy issues. The committee is to
study data privacy issues and make recommendations for legislation
which Rep. May is drafting.

May initially offered to recommend that Maricopa County Libertarian 
Chairman Ernest Hancock be appointed to the committee.  However, 
Hancock deferred in favor of Buttrick whom he felt would be a more
acceptable nominee; or at least a less controversial one.

The issue of data privacy rocketed to the forefront this week
with the announcement by Hancock that he intended to publish voter 
data on the internet.

"I've given the county attorney three weeks to show me that what
I intend to do is illegal. He can't," said Hancock. "My releasing
the data will be under the same conditions as the Republicans and
Democrats, except I will be giving it away and not limiting it to
their preferred candidates. This means that primary challengers
who are routinely refused by the incumbent parties will be able
to get the data from me; as will any other campaign committee
that doesn't meet the approval of the parties in power."

Rep. May called Hancock "a master marketer" in recognition of his
success in bringing the issue of privacy of voter data into the
public debate. Both Hancock and talk host Jim Sharpe refused to
let May hedge about the privacy of data. May was unable to justify
keeping banking and other commercial data private while making
voter data available without the individual voter's authorization.

"I want to see two changes in the way voter data is disseminated,"
said Hancock. "First I want a checkoff on the voter registration
form which allows the voter to prohibit release of the data to
anyone. Second I want to see the voter-authorized data made as 
freely available to any campaign committee as it is to political
parties. It is time to end the parties' stranglehold on access
to voters."
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