U.S. Vote Foundation to Tackle a Nationwide Data Problem

NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Vote Foundation's (US Vote) 12-year investment in development of its election data and API technology will be used to address a vast and unmanaged data challenge: Local Election Dates and Deadlines. The announcement was released at the Knight-Civic Hall Symposium on Tech, Politics and the Media.

"Ask anyone if they know the date of their next local election and what it is about, or how to find out? They cannot tell you. People are not participating in the elections that direct affect the quality of their lives. We are poised to unlock this data and fix that problem," states Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, US Vote's President and CEO.

A Knight Foundation Prototype Fund grant for "Local Election Dates and Deadlines (LEDD) Data Resource and API" served to kick-start the program. US Vote spent much of 2016 delving into the research, development and testing of a prototype for the new LEDD system. The Knight Foundation encouraged US Vote to tackle the new project from a human-centered design approach, a critical factor in the adoption by citizens and election officials at all levels of government.

US Vote will leverage the new LEDD Data Resource and API on its current civic data program to employ a unique method for data gathering and curating. They will respect and further develop common data formats to establish new solutions for LEDD data standardization and normalization.

The U.S. has a vast and complex web of approximately 90,000 local governments, many of which levy taxes on their constituents. Turnout for these elections is painfully low, and trending downward. It is a trend the foundation is gearing up to help reverse by supplying this highly-dynamic data resource to the nationwide network of election and voter outreach organizations poised to bring it forward to voters.

U.S. Vote Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c) 3 organization that works to facilitate and increase the participation of U.S. domestic, overseas and military voters worldwide through civic data, technology development, and access to personalized voter information services. Further information: www.usvotefoundation.org.

For Further Information Contact:
Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, [email protected], +1 (202) 470-2480

SOURCE U.S. Vote Foundation

Related Links

https://www.usvotefoundation.org

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