AOL’s Elections 2004 site was the largest election site on the Internet.

For the 2004 election, AOL’s Election Guide 2004 contained all the details an inside-the-Beltway political insider would want, while also trying to grab the attention of young nonvoters with its comedy Sideshow pages. The AOL elections team made deals with Comedy Central, The Onion and Bill Maher for video and audio commentary that put the election in perspective as a comedy event.

Thomas Shaw, then the premier media columnist for The Los Angeles Times said the AOL Election Guide made AOL a major player for elections coverage.

“My favorite feature on the AOL election site, for example, is "President Match," a quiz of sorts for users who (like me) are uncertain who's the best candidate in this year's presidential race. There are about 25 questions on foreign and domestic policy (abortion, gay rights, gun control, the war in Iraq, international trade agreements) and candidate qualifications (the importance of military service and prior elective experience). AOL will then, within a matter of seconds, match your answers with the candidates' positions and background to determine which candidate best meets your criteria. The candidate matches are listed in order, by percentage for each candidate. More than half a million users took the "President Match" quiz in February.” (Media Matters: Add AOL to the New List of Major Political Players, Feb. 29, 2004)

Other features:

• ZIP-Code driven listing of candidates on the ballot in your state. This includes contact information, the candidates’ issue positions and contact information.
• ZIP-Code driven Polling Place Locator with instructions on how to register to vote and how to get an absentee ballot.
• Glossary of election terms for the average voter, plus a special glossary written by editors of the humor publication The Onion, America’s foremost satirical media source.
• Political Insider section with all the information and tools for the hard-core junkie, including content from special political publications like National Journal and Congressional Quarterly.
• Informed Voices section provided weekly exclusive audio commentary from some of the most popular names in the political world including columnist Arianna Huffington, author Ann Coulter, former presidential press secretary Mike McCurry, National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg and Scott Reed, former adviser to Sen. Bob Dole’s presidential campaign.
• Political Spectrum gave the news and views from more than 80 columnists spanning the political spectrum.
• Cartoon Gallery contained about 20 of the best political cartoonists in America.
• Straw Poll allowed AOL Members to vote on their preferences for president with results displayed state by state, while also being compared to the national total.
• President Match allowed members to register their views on issues, rank the importance of the issues and then let the matchmaker tool tell you which candidate was the closest match to your views. You also could compare the candidates side by side.
• Younger Voters area – Information by, about, and for the younger voter from Rock the Vote and many others.

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