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A number of users have floated this idea and encouraged it, but as of yet there hasn't been any movement on it. So here we are, a thread to plan this thing, troubleshoot, assign work, collaborate, and see if we cannot get a functional app or website to inform the American public of all their ways to make their voices heard. The concept is relatively simple. Using IP tracking and/or GPS allowance, we can inform the user of every upcoming election from dog catcher up that they are eligible to participate in, alongside the times to register, and the eligible candidates. We also get the candidates positions on the important and relevant matters, from where we can get them. A lot of this is going to be blank in many cases, at least initially. At that point, we can use the secondary use of the system. By using the same GPS based system that the app is built on to give information, we can check to see which of the representatives in our users districts have not sent us a concrete stance on certain issues. At this point, we can encourage users to print out and mail letters requesting a formal position on these issues. While a politician will ignore a journalist asking them to make a statement on something unless its absolutely necessary, when a number of their constituents send them letters demanding the same thing, it becomes a lot harder to ignore, and there comes a point where trying to ignore us simply becomes more of a hassle than taking a concrete stand. This same tactic is used by corporate lobbyists to flip politicians votes, we may as well use such an underhanded tactic to inform the public and let them know who they are voting for, and what they represent. Whatever may come of this, whatever form it takes, there is a use for this service and it is within our powers to do so. Leave messages below or join the DIscord room to discuss. https://discord.gg/cADeZre
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Dec 10, 2016 11:41
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get ready to disrupt democracy
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Dec 10, 2016 12:03
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i'll make the website
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Dec 10, 2016 15:27
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won't we get sued for making an app version of ballotpedia or any of the other half dozen sites that do exactly this
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Dec 10, 2016 16:21
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Main Paineframe posted:won't we get sued for making an app version of ballotpedia or any of the other half dozen sites that do exactly this 
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Dec 10, 2016 18:47
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I'll do the jonny concept art
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Dec 10, 2016 18:49
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Real talk I can help with the architecture, planning, and development. If you're interested, send me a PM and we can go about setting this up into something viable. We can set up a private slack and story board to get this shaped up, for starters. Next, we can set up some SCM and start organizing the team. Ferdinand the Bull has issued a correction as of 14:49 on Dec 12, 2016 |
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Dec 12, 2016 14:46
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Karl Barks posted:I'll do the jonny concept art Johnny Five-Ballots
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Dec 12, 2016 17:35
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https://github.com/votinginfoproject The voting information project. Looks legit. I am gonna contribute to it. Anyone else with me?
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Dec 12, 2016 19:45
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Could this system also be used to identify people who are unfriendly to the powerful interests and then organize and arm them?
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Dec 23, 2016 11:17
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before we even start coding something up we need to start thinking about exactly wtf we're making what are the needs we have to fulfill? who is our target audience? how interested in this solution is the target audience? do they even really have a problem that needs to be filled, or do they not really care about voting and politics in general? we're nowhere near the point where we should be coding, tbqh. we have a lot of product research that we need to do first
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Dec 23, 2016 15:05
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Google provides all the info on a given ballot if you enter your zip code and the kind of people motivated enough to download an app like this are probably already aware of what's going on in local politics. The problem isn't the lack of info, it's the lack of interest in politics in the first place.
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Dec 23, 2016 17:37
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HailHorrorHail posted:Google provides all the info on a given ballot if you enter your zip code and the kind of people motivated enough to download an app like this are probably already aware of what's going on in local politics. Exactly. tech can't solve everything. working as a software developer has taught me that people are infinitely more difficult than any sort of tech. we should be focusing on people. we need "soft" skills and outreach.
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Dec 23, 2016 17:50
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Fulchrum posted:The concept is relatively simple. Using IP tracking and/or GPS allowance, we can inform the user of every upcoming election from dog catcher up that they are eligible to participate in, alongside the times to register, and the eligible candidates. We also get the candidates positions on the important and relevant matters, from where we can get them. A lot of this is going to be blank in many cases, at least initially. At that point, we can use the secondary use of the system. Wouldn't it be way easier to get people to register to vote by mail? Then the ballot shows up at your house for every election. You know who the candidates are, because they're on your ballot. And you can use google to find everyone's positions. The alternative is pulling out your phone and trying to read stuff when you're literally in the voting booth.
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Dec 27, 2016 21:59
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falcon2424 posted:The alternative is pulling out your phone and trying to read stuff when you're literally in the voting booth. Doing this might cause you some trouble, because in 16 states taking photographs while in a voting booth is illegal; and what's someone going to assume if they see you whip out your phone?
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Dec 27, 2016 22:10
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Long and short: This project is a lot harder than you think and a lot less useful than you'd like. All district info is totally non-standardized, often taking different formats county by county. It's difficult to access and there are firms that make money just by going through all the effort to collate the data from state agencies and make it available to other vendors. And at the end of the day, you're not engaging the voters who matter the most- the ones least engaged in the political system.
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Dec 27, 2016 22:11
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Concerned Citizen posted:Long and short: This project is a lot harder than you think and a lot less useful than you'd like. All district info is totally non-standardized, often taking different formats county by county. It's difficult to access and there are firms that make money just by going through all the effort to collate the data from state agencies and make it available to other vendors. And at the end of the day, you're not engaging the voters who matter the most- the ones least engaged in the political system. Google and the Voter Information Project do the legwork of collecting and standardizing the data nationwide and makes it available for free as an API. Data isn't the problem. Engaging people is the problem.
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Dec 28, 2016 22:49
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Finding out that Hillary Clinton's campaign was tanked by a Rampant AI should be a good example that More Tech is not the answer to politics.
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Dec 29, 2016 23:41
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it could be the answer provided we don't put the rampant AI as the actual candidate next time
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Dec 29, 2016 23:42
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biznatchio posted:Google and the Voter Information Project do the legwork of collecting and standardizing the data nationwide and makes it available for free as an API. i might be wrong but i believe that only works for a handful of offices, not all of them. off-year bond measures, municipal elections, etc wouldn't be covered.
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Dec 30, 2016 00:33
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redneck nazgul posted:it could be the answer provided we don't put the rampant AI as the actual candidate next time Idk I would totally be down for a kill all humans platforn
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Dec 30, 2016 17:21
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Concerned Citizen posted:i might be wrong but i believe that only works for a handful of offices, not all of them. off-year bond measures, municipal elections, etc wouldn't be covered. It's probably fairly hit-or-miss. It lists all my local municipal offices. Not sure how much of the elections it covered though.
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Dec 31, 2016 03:03
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Agean90 posted:Idk I would totally be down for a kill all humans platforn Donald J. Bender!
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Dec 31, 2016 10:24
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