How Can You Tell If A Dead Family Member Got Registered To Vote?

Information technology's like shooting fish in a barrel enough to say you're going to the polls, but nobody is actually tracking whether you bandage your ballot — until at present. 2 new political apps, VoteWithMe and OutVote, will aid you see if your friends voted and what their party affiliations are. Both apps were designed to help you encourage your friends and family unit to vote in the midterm election, as first reported by The New York Times.

How your friends voted in previous elections remains secret, but their voting histories are not. The two apps take data from public government records and brand it more than easily accessible. Now, instead of having to look up each of your friends to see if they've voted, you just need to sync your phone contacts.

The makers of the apps are hoping that social pressure to vote will increase turnout. If your friends accept missed an election in the by, the year volition show upwards with a slash across it. VoteWithMe adds a fire emoji next to those with near-perfect records, while OutVote gives them a heart eyes emoji. With both apps, y'all can send prewritten messages to your contacts, such every bit "You gonna vote?"

VoteWithMe claims that reminding friends and family through texts is up to 20 times more effective than "knocking on doors." Information technology also encourages you to message those who didn't vote in the final midterm election and those who live in areas that are more contentious, along with information about who's on the ballot and who is predicted to win.

VoteWithMe was made past a nonprofit chosen the New Data Project that was started past people in the Obama administration. By default, information technology shows the Democrats on your contact list, rather than all parties; you'll have to toggle to see every affiliation. OutVote received seed funding from YCombinator, and it accepts fees from political groups to utilise its app in campaigns.

There are privacy downsides to using the apps. OutVote harvests personal information, including email addresses, physical addresses, and company names, and y'all can't control whether your contacts apply the app and harvest your information equally a result. VoteWithMe previously collected personal data, but after The New York Times inquired, information technology ended the practice.

Across privacy, there might be an uncomfortable element to discovering your friends' party affiliations and finding out who'southward a Republican in a bluish land or a Democrat in a red land. Although that's all data that was bachelor before, the like shooting fish in a barrel admission to syncing all your contacts exposes these affiliations more directly. What's more, it appears that the information the apps pull isn't up-to-date with last-minute registration changes. A party affiliation modify fabricated in the last calendar month, for instance, won't appear on the app.