A new app aims to revolutionise the way Irish voters make their election choices, by helping voters better understand which candidate suits their views.
Smartvote is a product of UCD’s innovation Academy and has just been launched ahead of this Friday’s Kilkenny-Carlow by-election, and aims to expand nationwide in time for the general election.
Smartvote asks you 30 questions about topical issues, ranging from abortion to immigration, health insurance and Jobbridge. Users are allowed rank how important an issue is to them on a scale of one to five. Based on the answers, Smartvote then calculates the candidates who best represent the user’s views, and ranks each candidate accordingly, showing how the candidate’s answers to the same questions corresponded to the user’s.
Users are asked a series of questions, covering everything from taxation to immigration
Founder Keith Moore explains that the idea came to him when for local elections he found unable to fully grasp who the most suitable candidate was, due to the mass of opinions and options open with 23 candidates standing in his constituency.
“I had a problem in the local Elections,” Mr Moore said.
“I didn't have time to research all 23 candidates and didn't want to vote for a candidate just because they had a nice poster.
“For the first time in my life I didn't vote. I thought to myself, there has to be an easier way to make an informed voting decision.”
The app began life being used in the UCD Student Union elections in March of this year. Over 2000 students used the app, with 83 per cent of those who gave feedback on it saying they’d use it again for the General Election.
Smartvote is now live for the Kilkenny-Carlow by-election, with twelve of the thirteen candidates in that vote saying they support the initiative, according to Smartvote. Malcolm Noonan of the Green Party said, “Smart vote is the future of political campaigning.”
Based on your answers, the app will then rank how closely your views are to those of the candidates
Co-founder Gordon Rose says he believes the app works well as “it encourages people to engage in an election.
“Users can get up to speed on the issues and candidates in just five-10 minutes, about the same time it takes to read one manifesto,” he said.
On the official website, the team behind Smartvote say that the app isn't intended as a device to drive a voter's entire decision making process, but rather a 'great place to start'.
"There is way more to understanding and making a respectable decision about policies than a simple yes/no statement. But we do believe this is a great place to start," the statement reads.
The app will be rolled out to every constituency in Ireland ahead of the general election, but for now users can allow technology to discern their favourite in the Kilkenny-Carlow by-election by going to www.smartvote.ie.
