Voting Information Project Takes Aim at Open Data, Social Media

Government Technology
(04/23/12) Wayne Hanson
The Pew Center on the States and several technology companies recently launched the Voting Information Project (VIP), which enables Foursquare users to receive an "I Voted" badge when they visit their polling places. VIP also provides voters in 37 states with an easier way to find election information via social media and mobile devices. VIP takes state election information and translates it into an open programming format, organizing it into application programming interfaces (APIs). "Right now, we're getting that information from 37 states, and all that information is stored in these feeds--these APIs--so that developers and whoever wants to use that information can create a user-friendly tool out of it," says Pew associate Olivia Doherty. VIP will make election information available on search engines, media sites, get-out-the-vote campaigns, and political party Web sites. In several of the states, including California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois, the counties provide the political data. Doherty hopes that many more local governments will use the tool on their Web sites this year.
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