PlaceAVote.com
{{Infobox company
| name = PlaceAVote.com
| foundation = 2014
| location_city = Los Angeles, CA
| location_country = U.S.
| homepage = {{URL|http://placeavote.com/|www.PlaceAVote.com}}
| key_people = Luke Arrigoni
Ben Colman
Job Melton
}}
PlaceAVote.com was a grassroots American organization{{cite web|url=https://podfanatic.com/podcast/bloomberg-all-podcasts/episode/the-bloomberg-advantage-placeavote-disrupting-u-s-politics |title=The Bloomberg Advantage: PlaceAVote Disrupting U.S. Politics |publisher=Bloomberg }} that provides a peer-to-peer framework{{cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/10/congress-is-broken-that-doesnt-mean-tech-can-fix-it/ |title=Congress Is Broken. That Doesn't Mean Tech Can Fix It |publisher=Wired }} to review, discuss, and vote on every issue before United States Congress.{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/what-would-change-if-politicians-wrote-laws-based-on-in-1581154518/ |title=What Would Change If Politicians Wrote Laws Based on Internet |publisher=Gizmodo }} The guiding principle in PlaceAVote's development is to provide a boundary-free, non-partisan forum in which the collective will of the people can be gathered and communicated to their United States Congressional Representatives in order for representation to actually take place{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz62wybsY7o |title=Finding A Backdoor to Democracy: PlaceAVote.com's Luke Davis (Interview w/ Cenk Uygur) |publisher=TheYoungTurks}}
{{cite web|url=http://www.realclear.com/tech/2014/06/20/is_your_future_congressman_going_to_be_a_machine_7548.html |title=Is Your Future Congressman A Machine? And why it may not be that bad |publisher=RealClear }} Since the 2014 primaries, over 50 candidates across the United States expressed an interest in running on the PlaceAVote platform.{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/futuristparty/comments/264ibr/good_morning_rfuturistparty_we_are_running_two/ |title=Good Morning /r/FuturistParty! We are running two congressional campaigns this year on the platform of PlaceAVote.com which will give every constituent the right to vote on every bill before congress. AMA! |date=2014-05-01 |publisher=Reddit }} Founded in 2014, PlaceAVote's mission is to facilitate democracy and to combat government corruption in the United States and abroad.{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/05/24/replaceing-politicians-with-internet-polls/ |title=PlaceAVote wants to replace politicians with internet polls |publisher=Engadget |date=2014-05-24 |accessdate=2015-02-19}}
2014 Congressional elections
Two congressional candidates ran on the Placeavote.com platform of leveraging tech to fully represent constituents in the 2014 elections: Job Melton Democrat (CA-16) and John Catano Republican (CA-22).{{cite web|url=http://www.wilmott.com/blogs/irismack/index.cfm/2014/5/26/PlaceAVote-Tech-Company-Replace-US-Congress-with-Software |title=PlaceAVote Tech Company: Replace U.S. Congress with Software!=Wilmott Quantitative Finance }} These candidates leveraged PlaceAVote to engage, educate and interact with constituents in order to represent their will by voting according to voter consensus. The candidacies triggered an interest in this idea across the US. As an example of the underlying non-partisan nature of the proposal and the importance for the national conversation to be about the issues rather than the party, both candidates changed their lifetime party affiliation to match that of their districts constituency.{{cite web|url=http://agreatbecoming.com/2014/08/11/three-interesting-developments-in-democracy/ |title=Three Interesting Developments in Democracy |publisher=A Great Becoming }}
2016 Congressional elections
As of May 2014 over 50 congressional candidates expressed an interest in running in 2016 on Placeavote.com platform in cities including but not limited to Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Philadelphia, Chicago, Sacramento, Fresno, St. Louis, Orlando and Atlanta.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-startup-trying-to-replace-congress-with-software-has-two-candidates-running/ |title=The Startup Trying to Replace Congress With Software Is Running Two Candidates |publisher=Vice.com }}
Security and encryption
PlaceAVote.com provides secure voting via public-key cryptography.{{cite web|url=http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/how-we-can-overcome-oligarchy-disguised-democracy |title=How We Can Overcome Oligarchy Disguised Democracy |publisher=Alternet}} For every vote cast, the resulting "Yes" or "No" value is encrypted via a public-key.{{cite web|url=http://www.truthandaction.org/replace-congress-online-voting/ |title=Replace Congress With Online Voting? |publisher=Truth And Action }} When the vote is final, all public keys along with their corresponding signature-values and vote-values are published for a public audit. This approach prevents tampering with the system while allowing voters to remain anonymous.{{cite web|url=http://placeavote.com/ |title=PlaceAVote.com - Replacing Congress with Software |publisher=PlaceAVote, Inc }}
Public opinion
PlaceAVote.com advocates criticize the current political system's tendency to only represent the organized voice of special interests, arguing that the current system is an example of the minority ruling the majority via well-funded special interests. The current delegation system assumes that representatives are experts or are given access to experts on pending legislation. However the truth is that most of the representatives in congress are actually not experts in all the issues but come from a law background.{{cite web|url=http://politicaloutcast.com/2013/01/is-congress-too-full-of-lawyers |title=Is Congress Too Full of Lawyers?}} PlaceAVote instead creates a system where experts of differing opinions can come together and publicly debate the merits and weaknesses of upcoming legislation.{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/robbgilchrist/5-services-we-all-must-use-in-the-wake-of-ferguson-xaha |title=Five Services We All Must Use In the Wake Of Ferguson |publisher=BuzzFeed }} Though mechanisms within the software that allow for the development of peer to peer coalitions around issues, legislation will be created based on need and public benefit rather than political payback.{{cite web|url=https://www.opensecrets.org/elections/ |title=Politicians and Elections}}
History
PlaceAVote was founded in Los Angeles, California by Ben Colman and Luke Arrigoni. Colman had previously worked at Google, and founded RivalMe, an algorithmic social app developer. Arrigoni previously worked at Creative Artists Agency and founded {{URL|http://ventata.com/|Ventata.com}}, a dynamic pricing company.
References
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External links
- {{Official website|http://placeavote.com/}}
- [https://www.reddit.com/r/futuristparty/comments/264ibr/good_morning_rfuturistparty_we_are_running_two/ Reddit AMA]