Members of the Video Game Voters Network checking their email Monday morning were greeted by an entreaty from the group urging them to head to the polls for Tuesday’s elections.
“We need to send a clear signal this Tuesday: video games are protected speech, afforded constitutional protection by the First Amendment,” the email says. “Our taxpayer time and money should be spent on the real issues affecting our country and taxpayers.”
Though the email pushes for voting, it stops short of mentioning any specific candidates for whom voters should pull the lever.
“VGVN is not backing any particular candidate,” said Stacey J. Wade, Media Relations Manager for the Electronic Software Association, the VGVN parent organization. “As for whether we will in the future, that will depend on the circumstances at the time.”
Though the VGVN may not take an official stance, that hasn’t stopped the ESA, which serves companies that develop video and computer games, from making its opinion known with dollars. The group gave $2,250 to Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, a Republican running for re-election in California. She was one of seven in the state assembly to oppose Assembly Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee’s bill to prohibit the sale of extremely violent video games to children.
