Purpose and Vision
“The Educated Voter” is a non-partisan, nonprofit initiative designed to enhance democratic participation by providing clear, accessible, and unbiased voter information. Our vision is to empower citizens with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions in local, state and federal elections, thereby strengthening the democratic process.
This initiative started in 2022 and was met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction. This project not only garnered attention from local media outlets like the Journal Inquirer and The Glastonbury Citizen but also received acclaim through multiple letters to the editor, praising its impact and utility. Here’s an example of the coverage we received.
2024 Partnership
In 2024, “The Educated Voter” seeks to establish a strategic partnership with The League of Women Voters, specifically targeting the residents of West Hartford. Unlike Hartford, which benefits from the nonprofit efforts of the Hartford Vota Coalition, West Hartford lacks a similar resource dedicated to enhancing voter education and engagement. This collaboration aims to furnish the citizens of West Hartford with comprehensive and detailed information regarding electoral candidates and ballot initiatives, offering insights beyond mere candidate press statements.
Our proposed initiative intends to capitalize on the proven strategies and successes achieved in Glastonbury, adapting and applying them to meet the unique needs of West Hartford. By doing so, we aspire to elevate the level of informed participation among voters, thereby strengthening the democratic process within the community.
Benefits for LWV
The League of Women Voters’ logo will be prominently featured at the top of both the West Hartford and Glastonbury websites. Additionally, the websites will include multiple hyperlinks directing users to the League of Women Voters’ main site and Vote411.org, facilitating enhanced visibility.
This arrangement facilitates mutual promotional opportunities for the League of Women Voters, enabling the organization to capitalize on the cost-effective social media advertising strategies that have contributed to the success of “The Educated Voter.”
Although Vote411.org and WestHartfordVoter.com share some functional similarities, they cater to distinctly different user needs. WestHartfordVoter.com is specifically designed for users seeking concise summaries of candidates and issues without the necessity of extensive navigation or research.
Core Principals
The organization’s activities and decision-making are guided by four core pillars. These pillars are the key to the success of GlastonburyVoter.
Simple: Ensuring the platform is user-friendly and accessible, allowing voters to quickly and efficiently access vital electoral information.
Verifiable: Committing to the verification and referencing of all information presented, ensuring credibility and factual accuracy.
Transparency: Maintaining openness in operations, including financial disclosures, operational statistics, and decision-making processes.
Neutral Content: Upholding a non-partisan approach in presenting political information, thereby enabling voters to form unbiased opinions.
Simple
The effectiveness of our approach is inspired by the user-friendly models of successful companies like Google, Amazon, and Walmart. We focus on minimizing the barrier to entry, ensuring that citizens can effortlessly access election information. This strategy encompasses the following key elements:
Intuitive Domain Names
- We choose domain names that are easy to remember and resonate with residents, like ‘manchestervoter.com’ or ‘hartfordvoter.com’. This not only aids in self-identification, fostering a sense of ownership (“I am a Hartford voter!”) but also ensures the domain names are memorable.
Streamlined User Experience
- Adhering to research from the Nielsen Norman Group, website visitors typically decide to stay or leave within the first 10 to 20 seconds. To address this, we prioritize providing essential information upfront with minimal clicks.
- As demonstrated in the 2023 municipal election page example below, our design allows voters to immediately see the races they can vote in, followed by detailed information about candidate forums. This layout enables users to quickly focus on the races most relevant to them, enhancing their online experience and engagement.
Verifiable
Every piece of information on our websites is independently verifiable, with direct links to credible sources for validation. For instance, in the coverage of the 2022 2nd Congressional District Race, we display the voting records of each candidate, accompanied by links to summaries, and the full texts of the relevant bills.
This rigorous verification process is applied uniformly across all our content, from published letters to the editor to recordings of debates. By ensuring that all data is backed by credible sources, we establish the trustworthiness of our content. In an era rife with misinformation, particularly about elections, such a commitment to accuracy is vital. We believe this approach is essential to fostering confidence in the integrity of our electoral processes, underscoring the importance of free and fair elections.
Transparency
We prioritize transparency and public trust by annually publishing all our metrics and statistics. You can view our comprehensive 2023 metrics at 2023 Glastonbury Voter Metrics. This report includes detailed data such as the number of unique users, page views, operating costs, and traffic analysis. Sharing this information openly aligns with our commitment to transparency and helps maintain a trustworthy relationship with the public.
This approach would continue for each of the sites, allowing the public to see a record of what went into the site and who were the contributers.
Neutral Content
Non partisan content is critical to ensure public trust into this project. There are a number of methods that we utilize to ensure non-partisan content.
Peer Review
- We ask the candidates to review the information we have posted on their profile. While not all of the candidates will respond, we do reach out to each of them.
- If candidates are not available to discuss their profile, we will approach the local party town committees and ask for their review and approval. Historically these committees have asked for word changes or minor alterations.
AI Review
- We realize that implicit bias can be a major issue with any project. To address this issue we utilize AI tools to summaries letters or statements written by candidates.
- We utilize AI tools to review pages posted about candidates looking for any possible bias.
2024 Expansion Plan
Objective
Expand “The Educated Voter” to the municipalities in the greater Hartford area.. Municipalities of over 50,000 residents are the targets in order to provide services to the most people.
2023 Budget Needs
Glastonbury Model Costs (Reference)
In 2023, the operation costs for GlastonburyVoter were $1,360.30 for a population of 35,061.
While some costs will remain static, as registering and hosting hartfordvoter.com would cost the same as glastonburyvoter.com, the cost per citizen for advertising will increase.
In 2023, online advertising for glastonburyvoter.com reached 6,097 people at a cost of $600, resulting in 10 cents per person.
Online advertising reached 17.4% of the total population of Glastonbury. This is expected, as not everyone engages in social media.
We matched that spending in print media to reach more citizens.
Using this model, we get an advertising cost formula of 3.48 cents per person in a town.
Budget Summary
Overview
The following budget outlines the estimated costs for expanding “The Educated Voter” to six additional municipalities, with the cost estimates based on population size. The budget includes line items for website development and maintenance, content creation, and advertising campaigns. All receipts will be provided to the League of Women Voters for proof that the costs were spent as budgeted.
Budget Breakdown:
| Fixed Costs (Per Municipalities) | |
| Domain Registration | $20 |
| Hosting Services | $232 |
| Variable Costs | |
| Promotions of .38 cents per resident with 64.034 residents | $2,700 |
| Subscriptions (Yearly Costs) | |
| Leonardo.ai | $40 |
| ElevenLabs.io | $40 |
| CapCut | $40 |
| Miscellaneous (Yearly Costs) | |
| Office supplies, postage, insurance, etc | $300 |
Total Annual Operational Costs:
| Fixed Costs | $252 |
| Promotions | $2700 |
| Subscriptions | $120 |
| Miscellaneous Costs | $300 |
| Total Annual Operating Cost | $3,372 |
Sources of Income
The Educated Voter has been self-funded in Glastonbury for the past two years. Operating costs have been pushed each year as part of the yearly metrics. These operating costs were used as the baseline for the 2024 expected budget.
Promotion Strategy
The mascot for “The Educated Voter” is represented by Statue of Liberty reimagined as a modern woman. This creative depiction aligns with our theme, symbolizing our commitment to American values. The vibrant and inspiring artwork serves as a unique and captivating mascot for the site and company, reflecting its mission to offer non-partisan political information in an empowering and inclusive manner.
In our digital promotion strategy, we employ AI-generated art to subtly vary our mascot in each advertisement, ensuring that every daily update remains fresh and captivating. This approach addresses the common tendency of audiences to become desensitized to repetitive advertisements. By engaging in this approach, we maintain the engagement and interest of our audience, ensuring that our promotional content continuously captures attention and effectively communicates our message.
Video Creation
Part of the effort over the past two years, we have created educational videos displaying the specifics of elections. We could create similar videos for West Hartford. This video is an example of the work, and demonstrates how the Board of Education works in Glastonbury.
Our History
“Every time I’ve stood at the polls, ballot in hand, I’ve found myself wondering, ‘Who are all these candidates?’ It struck me how vital voter education is, yet how often it’s overlooked in our society.
Motivated by this realization, I launched GlastonburyVoter.com in 2022. My aim was simple yet ambitious: to gather comprehensive information about the candidates and ballot initiatives, and present it in an easy-to-understand format for the residents of Glastonbury.
The most frequent reaction I encounter when introducing this project to people is a resounding, ‘Wow, I wish my town had something like this’. That’s precisely what the 2024 Educated Voter Project aims to achieve. We’re set to expand this service, bringing informed voting to a broader audience of 464,775 people across different municipalities.”
Curriculum Vitae
| Contact Information [email protected] 860-221-4653 | LinkedIn Profile Professional Summary Experienced software developer and IT professional with over 25 years in the field, specializing in network management, website development, and digital promotions. Engaged in civic activities with a strong background in both political and technical domains. Currently enhancing digital engagement and community outreach at Itential. Experience Software Developer, Itential [Greater Atlanta Area] | 2016-Present * Developed and implemented customer solutions resulting in significant cost savings. * Developed training regiment for new hires. Freelance Web Developer [Glastonbury] | 2012-Present * Designed and deployed websites for small businesses, optimizing user experience. * Specialized in WordPress and Drupal, integrating SEO practices to maximize visibility. Political Engagement [Glastonbury] | Last 2 Years * Collaborated with political organizations across the spectrum, focusing on digital campaigns. * Produced engaging multimedia content, including videos and audio, to support various campaigns. Education * Pursued Bachelor of Science in Computer Science * San Francisco State University Skills Programming: C++, Node.js, Perl Web Development: WordPress, Drupal, SEO Database Management: SQL, NoSQL Network: Administration, Engineering, Management Scripting: Bash Multimedia: Video Editing (Capcut), Audio Editing Protocols: SMTP, SNMP |
Dennis (D.J.) McBride
President “The Educated Voter”
860-221-4653
[email protected]