Visible Vote Connects Voters Directly With Politicians
After experiencing difficulty reaching his congressman's office during the health care debate, Paul Everton developed a cell phone and Facebook application called Visible Vote that has the potential to revolutionize the way voters connect with their legislators.
With the support of his business partner Jason Pritzker, Visible Vote has signed up 30 politicians, including Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Charlie Rangel, and 160,000 new users since its launch in January 2010.
"It allows voters to vote on the same bills as their congressional officials are voting on. So, for example, health care, you can say yes or no and then it will tell the congressmen who represent you what exactly you want as an individual," Everton, Visible Vote's CEO explained on Thursday's "Washington Unplugged."
Participating elected officials are able to connect with their constituents in real time, something Everton and Pritzer say has "never been done before." "Our application is the probably the closest thing we can have with a representative form of government with a direct democracy," Everton said.
Over 1.7 million votes have been cast on the application, which is available on the iPhone, Blackberry, Google Android and through Facebook. After information is collected, the 30-year-old entrepreneurs make it available on their website.
"We splice and dice the data we receive by gender, education level, income, whatever demographic we have, we make available to our users. It gives you the opportunity to really connect with other people politically," Pritzker, who is Visible Vote's President, said.
With 2010 mid-term elections looming, Everton and Pritzker have high expectations. "I want us to have a million users by the time the midterms are done. This is a natural growth platform for us," Pritzker said.
The application is free to users and the Chicago-based company says it is "mission-critical" that Visible Vote remain bi-partisan.
You can learn more about the project in the video above. Or click here to watch Thursday's "Washington Unplugged," with interviews with NAACP president Benjamin Todd Jealous and Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei.
"Washington Unplugged," CBSNews.com's exclusive daily politics Webshow, appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.
