In recent weeks, it’s been nearly impossible to drive through the city and not notice the election signage distributed throughout most residential neighbourhoods. I was particularly interested in what the voter turnout would be this year, given that low voter turnout in past elections was a hot topic of conversation.
For that reason, I was drawn to an article in Vancity buzz about an app created by the City of Richmond, that provides potential voters with a one-stop-shop for all of their election info needs. The app allows the user to find information about their designated voting place, and more importantly, provides access to candidate profiles.
This sort of app appeals to me personally, because I’ve found that it can be very difficult to make an educated decision when it comes to voting, because so much of the messaging that’s out there is one-sided. Putting everything into a quick and easy-to-access digital format effectively eliminates the search for information, which I think would make people more likely to vote.
As for the result, Richmond did see an increase in voter turnout this year, at 32.4 per cent, compared to 23.4 per cent in 2011. While it’s unclear how much of that boost can be attributed directly to the app, it certainly couldn’t have hurt.