One neat little outgrowth of this weekend's Great American Hackathon, organized by the Sunlight Foundation*, is a widget in the works that -- driven by state and local election data from the rather promising Voting Information Project -- would spit out what's called a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot for military members living overseas, customized for their home voting location. If it works, it could help to simplify a process that can be enormously complex. In recent U.S. elections, American soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere have run into real trouble (a) getting their ballots, (b) getting them in on time, and (c) staying in compliance with local election laws. It's encouraging to see open data and collaboration going to helping those folks exercise their well-earned vote.
There's not much in the way of FWAB/VIP code written yet, but this seems like a project that would be open to having a few extra hands work on it.
*Note: Our Andrew Rasiej and Micah Sifry are senior advisors to the Sunlight Foundation.
Comments
Everyone was given the right
Everyone was given the right to vote to participate in this electoral process; we have our freewill to decide whom we want to rule the country. We are united to have a fair election but we have the right to make it private and decide for our own choices. Anyway anybody here who is looking for a job I will give you some of the basic tips you have to do during interview. There are some things you want to avoid, if you actually WANT a job. For instance, the most common interview mistakes that interviewers point out is a candidate being inappropriately dressed. So leave your Grateful Dead t shirt at home, and put on a suit for crying out loud. Other common blunders of interviews are usually pretty basic – come prepared, and knowing your resume, a little knowledge of the company. Don't trash former employers, and don't tell them you plan to take a lot of time off to nurse your ailing gerbil – otherwise you're going to need fast cash from the unemployment office.