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Ask HN: How could tech fix elections?

5 points by rittersport3 ↗ HN
I know it's more complicated than that. Tech alone is not sufficient, but it can at least help. I'm planning to start an open-source project to build an app for the brazilian elections (held in October).

My early ideas are: (a) List of candidates (duh) with parties, voting history, wealth, media coverage, etc. All sortable and comparable

(b) Quizzes to suggest candidates based on the respondend opinions

(c) Some sort of social integration to know which candidates yout friends support

In Brazil we have multiple strong parties (at least 5) and some 20 or so smaller parties that together will "churn" some 20k candidates. Our voting system makes the total pool of candidates for a voter to be in the hundreds; an app that could (just as pandora does) recommend new candidates and ideas could be useful. Filter the signal from the noise.

So, what would YOU want on an app to help you vote? Suggestions on functionalities and architecture?

Thanks folks.

4 comments

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thejteam
Just a suggestion: In the title the phrase "fix elections" can have multiple meanings. One meaning is to "improve what is broken" about elections. This is the one you mean. The other one is to "rig" an election, or to illegally predetermine the result. This is not what you mean.

I would just keep it simple with a) and b) above, c) if you really want it to be a social app. The hard part will be getting data for the app and convincing people you are not trying to favor one candidate over another. At least I presume this will be a problem, I am not from Brazil.

rittersport3
Hey,

Thanks for pointing out the title slip, I didn't mean to rig the election - quite on the contrary... Well, I would change it right away, if I could(I can't seem to be able to edit the submission, is that normal?)

The data part is, initially,not that hard. Brazil has stringent laws regarding candidates' informations and it's relatively simple to access it (see http://www.tse.jus.br/hotSites/pesquisas-eleitorais/candidat... for a .csv database of all candidates in the country). Going to the next level (more informative, insightful, information) will be challenging - I am planning to ask for help from political NGOs that might help with that.

I would really like the social aspect of the app to flourish: I have the feeling we are often very apathetic and having tools to engage friends, family, might help igniting debate. Social apps find Brazil incredibly receptive - we seem to crave for all things social.

Anyway, thanks for the input!

mikegreen
I had an idea (that quickly faded once the last elections were over, and I try not to think about the upcoming hell of another) to try to get a candidate into office based on a few simply premises: Your elected official will vote the way the majority of his/her constituents decided via individual vote. No takebacks, no frills. The elected person is simply a conduit to the commoners.

The constituents get a text message, email or <gasp> phone call saying their elected official is going to vote on an issue. They get a summary of the issue at hand, written by a third party (like the vote tracking sites use, to prevent sway in the text).

Then, the individual uses their app, or website, or <gasp> phone IVR to submit their vote on the issue.

Shortly after (time period permitting), the elected officially votes the way the majority of his constituents want him to.

Now, do we want all votes to go the way the people want? Do people really understand what they're voting for? I don't really know, but damn, I think it would be more effective than what we have now.

bmelton
I'm not a crypto guy, so this is probably a really dumb suggestion, but isn't this a great application for a blockchain?