Around the corner is perhaps one of the most important elections this nation has ever seen, yet many people are still unaware of the details needed to cast informed ballots.
It’s not necessarily their fault — some voting information can be quite hard to find, especially when it comes to learning about, say, the political stances of judges up for recall or what a certain new amendment might mean for everyday life. In a very Silicon Valley way, there is an app looking to help with that called My Ballot Ai, an interactive mobile platform to help make voting information more accessible.
All a user has to do is type into a chat box what they want to know about any upcoming elections and they will receive real-time answers to their questions.
The app, founded by Mark Larman, was publicly launched on Friday. It is powered by Google Gemini and sources its data from the Google Civic API and the BallotReady API. A little noteworthy feature is that the app reveals its sources when responding with information, perhaps as a way to avoid the plagiarism accusations that have plagued other chatbots.
On My Ballot, users can also fill out a sample ballot so they can start to familiarize themselves with the language on the ballot. Larman said he hired a developer back in February and “it just feels like a blessing to have it finally ready in time for the election.”
This app comes at a critical time. Misinformation remains a concern among voters this election and one person in particular is causing a stir for election officials: Elon Musk. CNN reports that states are trying to fact-check the billionaire to stop him from spreading claims that will “mislead voters.” Meanwhile, Axios reported that Facebook users are falling for AI images of fake people giving endorsements, with a flood of AI-generated content — including video and audio — taking hold over the internet. All of this, paired with the fact that search engines have deprioritized news, makes it hard for the average voter to find credible information about voting.
Larman says he’s wanted to build an app like this since the 2020 election. He spent time that year protesting the murder of George Floyd and, when he found himself in the voting booth, he recalled looking at the ballot and not recognizing who any of the judges were.
“I was out there protesting and then when it came time to vote I didn’t even know which of these judges was for us or against us,” he said.
He spent the next three years thinking about creating a product that could effectively educate voters. When access to artificial intelligence was democratized, he took that opportunity to start building My Ballot Ai. Now, he’s in the process of fundraising and still works at his day job as he builds the app.
“The app is especially important now to exist as a verifiably non-biased source for information,” he continued, adding that voters feel like news right now is biased. “If people weren’t so uninformed and knew more about the issues and candidates they were voting for instead of just voting for the team, they’d feel less like they got cheated or lied to.”
Many young people are also taking to the polls for the first time. Efforts are made each election to engage young voters, who are less likely to vote than older people. Tufts estimates that in 2020, 50% of young people (considered between the ages of 18 to 29) voted in the presidential election, an increase from 39% in 2016.
Larman thinks young people are going to come out this election, pointing out that the youth are very active in politics, “but, on the other hand, they may be the least likely to take the effort to navigate the existing non-user friendly websites to learn about state and local elections and they certainly aren’t interested in reading any 100-page voting manuals sent to their house.”
My Ballot right now can be used anywhere in the U.S., though it says it has plans to expand to other countries soon.
Larman has other big plans for the app, too. He aims to build a networking component so that users will be able to directly ask questions to candidates running for office — he will start reaching out to representatives after the presidential election, just in time for the midterms. To boost engagement, Larman also hopes to add political quizzes that can then help give ballot recommendations and work with organizations and universities to reach even more voters.
“I want people to trust it as a tool that doesn’t necessarily care what you think, we just want you to think,” he said.
