Press release: Austin Tech Alliance and Leadership Austin announce launch of informed.vote

Press release: Austin Tech Alliance and Leadership Austin announce launch of informed.vote

Today, Austin Tech Alliance and Leadership Austin announced the beta launch of informed.vote, a new website to help Central Texans cast an informed vote.

Far too many Central Texans do not know where candidates for elected office stand on important community issues and civic challenges. The most robust way to find out – candidate questionnaires from community organizations – are not easy to find unless a voter already knows about a particular community group or does significant research into the causes and candidates they care about.

informed.vote allows the public to filter questions and answers by candidate and cause. Users will be able to search all questions posed by community groups and get answers directly from the candidates – all in one place.

“We’re extremely excited to announce the beta launch of informed.vote,” said David Edmonson, executive director of Austin Tech Alliance. “With the registration deadline passing today, voters will start focusing on how they’ll cast their vote in a few weeks. Our hope is that Central Texans will use this resource to feel more confident about voting in races up and down the ballot, particularly local races that might not receive the same amount of press coverage.”

“This idea surfaced from Leadership Austin’s 2016 Essential Class as they were exploring ways to engage more citizens in the single member district governance change the City of Austin had just implemented,” said Christopher Kennedy, CEO of Leadership Austin. “They were looking for an easily accessible public platform where each of us could learn more about organizations’ priorities and candidate positions.”

informed.vote is a community resource that any Austin-area organization can utilize to communicate their civic priorities to a broader audience. Organizations participating in the beta launch include Austin Tech Alliance, AURA, Black Austin Democrats, and The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce – and more will be added each week. Content on the site is constantly being added as organizations submit the questionnaires that have been answered by candidates.

Organizations and candidates who are interested in participating by sharing their filled-out questionnaires should visit informed.vote or reach out to info@austintech.org.

About Austin Tech Alliance

Austin Tech Alliance is a nonpartisan nonprofit building a culture of civic engagement in Austin’s tech sector. Together, we’re focused on helping every tech employee cast an informed vote and using tech as a tool to tackle our community’s most pressing challenges.

About Leadership Austin

Leadership Austin ignites passion for community leadership. Since 1979, we have developed and created community among leaders from all walks of life. We offer six programs that explore critical community issues, develop the leadership skills to address those issues, and foster relationships to work collaboratively for positive change. Members of the Leadership Austin family influence the community in measurable, meaningful ways to improve the quality of life for all in our region.

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