FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Aileen Kain, Committee of Seventy
(267) 861-6041 (office)
(610) 331-4107 (cell)
Liz Jaff, Crowdpac
(515) 779-1415 (cell)
COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY AND CROWDPAC ANNOUNCE PHILADELPHIA ELECTION COLLABORATION
Seventy to provide research and oversight to bolster local candidate information
PHILADELPHIA, PA (September 29, 2015) – Committee of Seventy, an 111 year-old independent government reform group, and Crowdpac, a Silicon Valley-funded start-up focused on campaign innovation, today jointly announced a collaboration to make it easier for Philadelphians to get high-quality, verified candidate information in advance of the November 3rd, 2015 general election.
Through this partnership, Seventy will provide background and information on endorsements for each candidate for municipal and state elections, which will be used to inform voters as they review Crowdpac’s candidate tracker pages and use its ballot creation tool. To ensure accuracy, Seventy will reach out to candidates to alert them to this opportunity and verify all information provided. This partnership will significantly enhance the reach of Seventy’s online voter education, a centerpiece of its effort to improve elections and government in the city and state. David Thornburgh, President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy said, “Seventy is thrilled to partner with a civic technology innovator like Crowdpac to increase voter engagement and participation in local elections, particularly following a primary election where turnout was at a historic low. We must find a way to build a new civic ethic for voting in Philadelphia, and using technology in new ways is a great step towards that goal.”
Crowdpac’s general election interface will feature pages for every candidate with background info, endorsements, You Tube videos and ratings of political leaning. The site will also include data visualizations of political donations and an option for users to build, save and share their own personal slate of candidates. The ballot feature is intended to provide easily accessed, non-partisan candidate information, particularly important given the expected low level of participation expected for this Election Day and the Democratic Party’s near-monopoly on sample ballots distributed on Election Day.
Crowdpac is independent, non-partisan and for-profit and is focused on disrupting current election processes by making it easier for citizens to learn about politicians and to find and support political candidates that match their priorities and beliefs. Crowdpac has identified Philadelphia as a key test market as it prepares to roll out its products nationwide in the 2016 election. “We at Crowdpac are grateful to have found Seventy as a local partner with a rich non-partisan history and look forward to using this partnership as a springboard for our 2016 campaign efforts, where Philadelphia will again be front and center”, said Steve Hilton, CEO of Crowdpac.
Seventy’s website will continue to provide important information on voting procedures, in addition to candidates’ pictures, bios and campaign information. Seventy also intends to invite its supporters, volunteers and social media followers to use the Crowdpac tool to increase awareness of the choices on the November ballot, as well as to use this partnership as a pilot to shape planning for 2016 election information and outreach.
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The Committee of Seventy is an independent nonprofit advocate for better politics and better government in Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For more information, see www.seventy.org.
Crowdpac’s mission is to give politics back to people - to make it easier for citizens to learn about politicians, and to find and support political candidates that match their priorities and beliefs. We want to help end the stranglehold of big money donors and special interests on the political system and to help create a more representative democracy. Crowdpac is independent, non-partisan and for-profit. For more information, see www.crowdpac.com