"See something - Say something". We see this at airports and on public transportation. So why not do the same while we are trying to vote? Reporting incidents is now easier with new mobile apps. Corrective action can be taken and the media notified faster. Sunshine is the best disinfectant.
Technical challenges
1. A short window of time.
2. A simple interface to make it easy for for users to report problems.
3. Ability to include notes, photos, videos and locations.
4. Large volume of traffic with thousands of users from dispersed locations,.
5. Problems have be prioritized based on level of urgency
6. A simple management console for experts to visualize the situation and respond quickly.
Survey 123 is an ESRI software solution that DemLabs adapted for incident reporting. Voters can use their phones to report the time, location, photo, video and urgency of the incident (without having to install an app). Problems are automatically geo-tagged and mapped onto a console for experts to review and to respond to immediately.
Try it yourself by clicking on this link from your mobile phone.
Ushahidi is a widely used software application that monitors real-time reports from the field. It was used by the 2012 Obama Campaign to respond to incidents of people being denied their ability to vote. Elections are highly timely events where issues and reports of problems have to be dealt with in real time. This is hard to do with hundreds of volunteers using pen, paper and phones calls across 50 states in a 14-hour period. Learn how Ushahidi meets this challenge here.
Contact us to learn how apps can increase transparency in the voting process and ensure fairer elections.
Co-Founder, DemLabs
DemLabs is a non-profit that applies innovation for progressive causes. Donate here to support our work.