The following is a special report from SeePolitical. For more information about the project, see their Anthem Video, or visit their IndieGogo donation site here.
I’ve worked in state capitals and city halls from coast to coast. Along the way, I’ve noticed that many seasoned lawmakers were having a hard time trying to figure out how they wanted to vote on ballot propositions.
It dawned on me, “If our elected officials are having such difficulty making sense of these issues, what are the rest of us suppose to do?”
Voter turnout rates hit record lows in many states this year. California experienced the lowest turnout in history during the June 2014 primary. A major problem is that ballot information is either communicated so ineffectively that voters are bored to death reading official voter guides or must submit to ultra-biased advertisements.
These two options limit most eligible voters' participation, especially younger voters and voters of color. We live in a culture that expects engaging video content, so we created SeePolitical to innovative how electoral information is communicated. We’re a nonpartisan nonprofit helping voters make informed decisions at the ballot booth in just a few minutes.
SeePolitical is offering a real solution to improve the political process by delivering high quality, entertaining, fact-based videos. We are building a platform to engage the entire voting population and empower everyone with the information needed to participate in our democracy, and have fun while we're at it.
We also developed a helpful mobile app that allows users to save their voting preference so they can use their phones as a personal voter guide in the voting booth.
THE PROBLEM:
Ballot props are difficult to understand and voters are short on time.
Millions of us are either completely guessing how to vote on ballot propositions that may change our lives, or opting out altogether.
Without a user-friendly tool to explain information in an unbiased way, voters are left guessing at the polls or skip voting. SeePolitical is the modern tool for the modern voter.
THE SOLUTION:
SeePolitical doesn’t tell voters how to vote, we want to break down the information in plain English and Spanish to help you decide how you want to vote. You can watch some of our past videos on our website: www.SeePolitical.com
SeePolitical is gearing up to prove the voting can be fun and easy this November.
Our initial goal is to educate and inform Californians this year about the implications of each statewide ballot proposition. After a successful trial in California, SeePolitical wants to explain ballot propositions in other states too. SeePolitical has the potential to be the go-to source for voter education and will quickly surpass outdated text heavy formats currently used to inform the public.
We need your help to break down the barriers of entry to the political process and usher in an era when everyone feels empowered and voters no longer have to ask, “Does Yes mean No, or does No mean Yes?” Finally, ballot propositions will be easy to understand.
Please visit our Indiegogo campaign here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/seepolitical-get-clarity-get-voting/x/8512535
Eric Garcetti Supports SeePolitical Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxVAQZN0t0Q
June 2014’s Prop 41 explained by SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmWBLqk104k
June 2014’s Prop 42 explained by SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nruj5dI_XJo