PALO ALTO, Calif., October 25, 2004 – MailFrontier™, a pioneer in email security and leading provider of anti-spam solutions, today announced survey findings that point to a potential sway in voting due to the influx of political spam. The independent survey found that when individuals viewed two political spam emails (one anti-Bush and one anti-Kerry), 21 percent responded that if they received such an email it would have an impact on how they vote in the 2004 presidential election.

Of those surveyed, 89 percent of respondents were registered to vote and were also equally divided among party lines. With the outcome of the presidential election increasingly resting on a core block of undecided voters, 25 percent of the survey respondents were still undecided voters.

“We’ve closely tracked the political spam phenomenon during the presidential election cycle and it is clear that voters are influenced by the messaging of political spam,” said Anne Bonaparte, president and CEO of MailFrontier, Inc. “Spam has been widely criticized as a business productivity issue and annoyance for email users, but these findings illustrate the powerful impact spam may also hold for this year’s presidential election.”

MailFrontier Research has noted a growing increase in political spam since it began tracking the trend in August 2004. By October 20, MailFrontier Research reported a 300 percent increase in political spam from September. At this rate, political spam will constitute 1 percent of all spam by Election Day on November 2 and will exceed MailFrontier’s earlier forecast that 1.25 billion political spam emails will be sent during the presidential campaigns.  It is clear that the close of the election cycle points to a surge in campaigning and advocacy via the Internet. 

MailFrontier commissioned the survey with Issues and Answers Network, Inc. The survey included two real-life emails (one anti-Bush and one anti-Kerry). The questions were added to an online omnibus survey that queried more than 1,000 respondents, ages 18+. The survey was fielded nationally during October 18-19, 2004.

About MailFrontier
MailFrontier is a leading provider of email security solutions that stop unwanted email by protecting enterprises from the growing number of dangerous and costly email threats while giving them the ability to anticipate and stop new threats as they emerge. MailFrontier offers a comprehensive defense against all known email threats, including spam, viruses, phishing, blended threats and other attacks, such as directory harvest attacks. The company has more than 750 customers, including Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Pier 1 Imports, PNM Resources, San Francisco Giants and Wyndham International. Founded in February 2002, MailFrontier is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. For additional information, go to www.mailfrontier.com.

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