Change.org Launches Elections-Focused Change Politics

The civic action platform Change.org today launched Change Politics, a mobile-friendly website to help voters make better decisions on Election Day.

The site allows voters to pose questions directly to the candidates; others get the chance to weigh in as well, casting a ballot to “upvote” questions so the most popular rise to the top.

Change Politics will organize candidate endorsements to make them easy for voters to find. There’s also an opportunity for voters to create personalized ballots they can bring with them into the voting booths on their smartphones.

Change.org founder and Chief Executive Ben Rattray said he hopes to create an alternative way for voters to learn about political candidates from the people and organizations they trust, instead of relying on campaign ads or party affiliation.

For the moment, Change Politics is focused on the national presidential contest — but the platform may be most effective for local races, where there often is a dearth of information.

“Our goal is to provide people the most valuable, curated information that helps people make informed decisions,” Rattray said.

Change Politics is partnering with the Concord Monitor to host an online town hall with the presidential candidates, so voters in New Hampshire can ask questions before the Feb. 9 primary.

To be sure, there is no shortage of mobile voter guides. (Change Politics is designed as a mobile Web app, but can also be accessed via desktop at www.changepolitics.org.)

Change Politics seeks to capitalize on the success of Change.org, which has been used by some 130 million people around the world to give voice to their concerns, from an acid attack victim calling for tougher laws in Uganda to demands that a Christian pastor be released from a North Korean prison.

In the U.S., some 35 million Americans have used Change.org’s platform.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.