Lisa Huyhn
Online petition website Change.org had launched a new site that focuses on politics. The website — ChangePolitics.org — was built to help voters sift through the political noise to help them decide who to vote for in upcoming elections.
ChangePolitics.org is available as a mobile-web app and desktop platform.
The program was built to crowdsource questions for politicians. Anyone can submit a question, then people vote for the best.
One of the first questions on the website was, “How will you fix the $18 trillion national debt?” and “What is your plan to reduce gun violence in America?”
Politicians including Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Ben Carlson, have already committed to answer some of the site’s most asked questions.
The new platform also collects and organizes endorsements from influential people and organizations in a single location. Voters can even download a personalized ballot guide that can be referenced in the voting booth.
“We want to flip the tables of control by putting citizens back in the centers of campaigns,” said Ben Rattray, founder and CEO of Change.org.
ChangePolitics.org is currently focused on the 2016 presidential election, but will expand to state and location elections throughout 2016.
The platform is excited to extend into local elections, where there is often less information available about individual candidates.
The for-profit company is registered as a B Corporation, a classification that indicates it prioritizes social responsibility.
ChangePolitics.org has promised not to descend into another forum for general political opinions. It hopes to focus on simply provided readily available information in an easily accessible format.
