The goal of the Voting Advice System is to take the money out of politics. The system appeals to voters because it’s convenient. It appeals to social activists and their organizations because it levels the political playing the field and empowers them with a stronger political voice. Continue Reading
- For Grassroots Politics, and Representatives We Deserve
Politicians should focus on policy, not campaigns. A voting advice system can put an end to massive campaign contributions, and end the reign of lobbyists. It can do that by enabling grassroots politics — and helping it go mainstream.
Poli-ticians should be focused on poli-cy. It’s in the job description. They should be working for us — not spending the majority of their time soliciting campaign contributions, listening to the lobbyists their donors employ, and savaging their competition with attack ads. With a voting advice system in widespread use, huge campaign contributions will become a thing of the past. Then, at long last, we will have the politicians we deserve.
A #VotingAdviceSystem, for politicians we deserve. Click To TweetIn addition, America desperately needs close to a dozen political reforms. But the very first step is to break the stranglehold that Big-$$ donors and their lobbyists have on the political process. Once that goal is accomplished, other reforms will be possible — and will happen rapidly.
Break the Big-$$ stranglehold with a #VotingAdviceSystem Click To TweetThe fact of the matter is that Big-$$ has hijacked the ballot box so, no matter who gets elected, it is Big-$$ who actually wins — to the ongoing and increasingly severe detriment of the average American.
A voting advice system that uses directed social media, with subscriptions and filtering, can change that situation.
Such a system would revolutionize the election process, making money irrelevant to elections. Once we take money out of the election equation, government can return to being the ameliorating force on corporate activity that it needs to be, for society to prosper. If we WANT democracy in America, we MUST have a #VotingAdviceSystem. Click To Tweet
With such a system, people can choose advisors they trust.
The system allows centrist candidates to be elected — instead of our current two-party system, which has us, as a society, lurching from left to right, and back again.
The system appeals to voters because it’s convenient. It appeals to social activists and reformers because it levels the political playing the field and empowers them with a stronger political voice. And because it is spam-free, it can be used by organizations who have a large following to make highly-target recommendations in small races.
Plus, with a few tweaks, the system can become an even more general advice system — one that is used by millions every week (for example, for movie and music recommendations), and which can be monetized to support the effort (for investment advice, for example).
It’s a system we need. It’s one we have needed for a very long time. So take action now:
- Read the Declaration of Support for the system and add your name!
- Support organizations like VotersEdge.org, which are making elections more convenient, and making the endorsement process more democratic.
- Fund an organization to build the system, and let me know how I can help. (Or help me start a crowdfunding campaign, so I can hire programmers!)
For more information on the nature of the system we need, see the articles below or read the Frequently Asked Questions.
Organization
Organizing a Voting Advice System
To allow a voting advice network to form and expand on its own, the organization must act as as standards body. It must also provide an initial reference implementation to get the ball rolling and to serve as a model for others to build on. In addition, it must engage in public outreach , and eventually provide support services, […] Continue Reading
Organizational Charter
Provisional charter for the organization. Continue Reading
Hall of Fame
A list of contributors to the project. Continue Reading
Implementation
Structured Twitter Feeds for Voting Advice
Structured Twitter feeds, filtered and stored, could be the basis for a comprehensive voting advice system that makes Big Money irrelevant to elections. Continue Reading
Initial Implementation & Resources
An initial implementation for voting advice can be built on top of Twitter. Local advice can be shared in a town, state-level advice in a state, and so on. Continue Reading
Voting Advice is NOT Online Voting
Various proposals have been made for online voting systems. But security issues present a huge obstacle. The voting advice system is not the same as a vote collection system. Continue Reading
Designing a Voting Advice System
These are the initial ideas for I had for the implementation of a voting advice system. I have since come to believe that filtered Twitter feeds make the best vehicle for giving and receiving advice, but there is much in this article that is worth referring to — especially with regard to what makes it […] Continue Reading
Voting Advice Technologies
We already have the technologies needed to implement a Voting Advice System. A bit of customizing is needed, but there is nothing radically new that needs to be developed. Continue Reading