Twitter Voter Report Wiki
by Michael HoffmanTuesday, October 21st, 2008
Alison Fine just gave us a head’s up about a cool project she developed with her colleague Nancy Scola to help ensure a fair and safe election for all U.S. citizens. It’s called Twitter Voter Report and it brings together a team of techies, Twitter users and a Wiki to aggregate information on voting day.
From their website:
On November 4th 2008, millions of Americans will go to over 200,000 distinct voting locations and using different systems and machinery to vote. Some voters will have a terrific experiences, and others will experience the same problems we have been hearing about for years - long lines, broken machines, inaccurate voting rolls, and others will experience problems that we haven’t heard about before. Using Twitter.com and 1-866-Our-Vote Hotline, voters will have a new way to share these experiences with one another and ensure that the media and watchdog groups are aware of any problems.
As news outlets and blogs will report on Election Day stories, we are building an invaluable resource for thousands of voters to get immediate help. From questions like “where do I vote” or “how do I make sure that my rights are being upheld,” Twitter Voter Report augments these efforts by providing a new way for voters to send text messages (aka tweets) via cellphones or computers which will be aggregated and mapped so that everyone can see the Nation’s voting problems in real-time.
Imagine a Nationwide web map with pins identifying every zip code where Americans are waiting over 30 minutes to vote or indicating those election districts where the voting machines are not working. Collectively we will inform each other when when the lines too long and ensure that media and watchdog groups know where problems exist.
You can follow the project on Twitter: @voterreport
or join the VoteReport Google Group.
