Avid newspaper readers know this industry is in the midst of dramatic change. Our Web sites and technology in general allow us to deliver information in ways we never imagined 10 years ago.

The League of Women Voters of Georgia/AJC online voter guide is a great example of how the business of gathering and disseminating information is changing. Rather than wading through a sea of races organized by county, readers can type in their address and get a list of the July 15 primary races specific to their area. With a few more clicks, users can get party information, biographical information and compare where the candidates stand on key issues. Users can build a sample ballot they can e-mail or print out and take with them to the polls.

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"The tool also allows users to do a side-by-side comparison of candidates so you can see how two different candidates answered the same question," said ajc.com senior editor Jennifer Ryan, who coordinated the project.

With more than 1,000 candidates and 543 races throughout the state, there is a lot to sort through. For the intensely curious, the guide allows you to browse all the races, starting with the U.S. Senate and congressional contests and moving on to the state House and Senate races and those in individual counties.

Since I live in west Cobb, I learned very quickly that there are a number of races I need to make a decision about. I was able to read about incumbents who have been in the news, as well as first-time candidates I've never heard of who are running for school board and County Commission. That's where news organizations can be most helpful to voters, who have plenty of information about higher-profile races.

I found it insightful to learn which candidates had elected not to respond — for whatever reason — to the questions posed by the League of Women Voters. The group gathered the information from candidates and printed it verbatim, abiding by its strict policy of running candidate submissions as they are received. They do edit for potentially slanderous comments.

"Responses are published exactly as they were submitted by the candidates," according to a policy note on the guide. "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the League of Women Voters of Georgia have made no edits to correct spelling, grammar, punctuation or factual errors."

Readers shouldn't be surprised to see the AJC partner with nonpartisan groups on similar projects in the future. The League of Women Voters is a reputable organization that has been providing voter guides for years. LWV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization that works to encourage an enthusiastic and active voter, said Georgia LWV executive director Polly McKinney. "Our goal is to get people interested in voting and to give them the tools to be able to make their own choices."

The league works especially hard to make sure candidate questions are not leading. "There are ways to ask questions that lead respondents to give a certain answer," said McKinney. "We work really hard to re-evaluate questions over and over again so they aren't implying anything."

Candidates are sent letters, followed by phone calls and e-mails reminding them to submit answers for the guide online, using a personal code.

The guide includes information from 24 counties, including those in the AJC's coverage area and those where the LWV has active chapters. Since the qualifying deadline for independent and judiciary candidates was later, their information will be added to the guide as it is received, said McKinney.

For the general election, constitutional amendments and other ballot questions will include more detailed information about what the measures mean. "We'll explain what a tax allocation district is and how it works, so when you go to vote on it, you'll know more than the two sentences that are given on the ballot," said McKinney.

To access the guide, go to ajc.com/voterguide. For more on the League of Women Voters of Georgia, go to lwvga.org.