The final weeks of campaigns are beginning, and Ohio voters have a new tool for selecting their candidates.

The Ohio Project on Campaign Conduct, a nonprofit, nonpartisan division of the Institute for Global Ethics, is making it easier for voters to find out what candidates stand for.

The project began running print ads as part of their voter-awareness paid media campaign in key Ohio newspapers Oct. 20 and plans to keep running them through Nov. 2, according to a news release.

Brad Rourke, director of the project, said the ads were designed to encourage voters to pay attention not just to the candidates but also how they campaign.

The ads also were created to allow voters to get in touch with project members who can show them how to contact candidates and say, "We're watching you," he said.

"Ohio voters have spoken plainly," he said. "They are sick and tired of campaigning as usual."

According to polls conducted for the project by Lake Snell & Associates and John Deardourff/The Media Company, 65 percent said they are "very concerned" about candidates saying one thing when campaigning and doing another thing when elected.

"My hope is that we might see a slight increase in voter turnout, but many factors decide that, not just advertisements," Rourke said. "These ads might give people a reason to come out to the polls."

Rourke said these ads could affect local levels because they ask voters to pay attention to the way a candidate campaigns and not to a particular race.

"How (candidates) campaign is how they will lead," he said.

The project also has been working with candidates at state and federal levels to draft mutually agreed upon codes of conduct. The codes are promises to behave in ways all people think are right, Rourke said. He said this would include eliminating stereotypes, treating opponents with respect and concentrating on opponents' records.

Rourke said it is hard to get candidates to agree, but even if they do not agree to terms, at least attention is being attracted to the issues the project is promoting.

Jess Goode, press secretary for Ted Strickland, said he thinks these codes will continue to become more popular. He said Strickland and his opponent, Nancy Hollister, tried to draft a code, but they could not agree to some specific statements in the agreement.

Elizabeth Long Rhodes, state coordinator for the project, said another part of the project's campaign is to have voters send away for Voter Action Kits.

The kits contain guidelines on how to communicate effectively, addresses for contacting candidates and postcards voters can sign and return to candidates asking them to abide by the rules.

"The project overall is to re-engage voters in the democratic process," she said.