Monolith Registry, a venture backed by global registry services provider Afilias, today announced the first phase of the introduction of two new generic top-level domains: “dot VOTE” or .VOTE; and its Spanish/Italian/Portuguese counterpart “dot VOTO” or .VOTO. .VOTE and .VOTO are designed to help governments, candidates and organizations get information to voters such as candidate materials or voter registration information. The first phase is the “sunrise” period, which is limited to eligible trademark holders and is open from January 13, 2015 through February 12, 2015.

Today, voters are confused and frustrated by the tidal wave of negative and misleading information characteristic of current elections in the US. Web site names can be registered and used by anyone for any purpose, resulting in a torrent of false and often deceptive messages targeting every voter group. Where can voters turn?

.VOTE and .VOTO are new web addresses designed for participants in the democratic process who need to provide information on their issues/candidacy to voters. As the names imply, .VOTE and .VOTO are dedicated to voter-focused, politically oriented information. Registrants must be able to demonstrate a nexus between their political activities and the name they are using. And they are prohibited from using names that are deceitful or disparaging. As a result, VOTE/.VOTO addresses will be respected as THE space dedicated to politically oriented information.

“In a cluttered and often negative political environment, candidates and other political participants have had no easy way to get their word out to voters,” said Roland LaPlante, CMO of Afilias. “The new .VOTE and .VOTO top-level domains now make it easy to get a memorable name that voters will know comes from you. And, we’ve built in safeguards to help ensure .VOTE/.VOTO names are neither misleading nor deceptive.”

The notice period for .VOTE and .VOTO sunrise period has begun: Sunrise will run from January 13, 2015 through February 12, 2015. During sunrise, domains will be awarded in a first-come, first-served manner; however, eligibility during this period is limited strictly to trademark holders whose marks are registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse. Once the general availability period opens on February 17, 2015, everyone will be eligible to register addresses with the .VOTE and .VOTO domains.

For more information about the .VOTE and .VOTO domains, visit: www.nic.vote and www.nic.voto.