The Problem
Today's political landscape is more complicated than ever before. With a greater spread of issues bubbling to the surface of the political discourse, it can be impossible to keep track of what's most important to you - and whether you're being properly represented when it comes to those issues.
Political party affiliations were once a valuable tool to quickly identify whether a voter and a candidate were likely to see eye-to-eye. However, a diversification in the average voter's priorities has rendered the two-party system an unreliable predictive method at best. The modern voter needs a new way to determine whether their votes are being faithfully translated into action at the national level.
The Idea
Democratize seeks to simplify civil engagement. When you create your profile, you'll be asked a series of simple questions the app will use to assign you an Ideology Score. By condensing viewpoints and priorities into a single number, the user will be able to tell at-a-glance how likely it is a representative (or candidate) will vote the way the user would.
Democratize then enables the user to keep a careful eye on their elected representatives by aggregating useful information like vote attendance and campaign donors into a simple, elegant interface. By highlighting their votes on bills that relate to the user's political priorities, the user is able to cut through the rhetoric and make informed decisions about the value and performance of their elected leaders.
The Goal
The aim of Democratize is simple: to help people across the country - regardless of political affiliation or policy acumen - become better informed about how they're being represented.
By putting more information in the hands of the people, it is the Democratize team's hope that voters across the country can be more confident in the decisions they make at the ballot box. Together, we can make the political process more transparent, more accessible, and more accountable. Together, we can make our country more democratic.
That is the power of Democratize.