Register2Vote developed a tool called MapTheVote with the goal of identifying residential addresses where no registered voters reside, and using this information to target voter registration efforts (both by mail and door-knocking campaigns). We start with an open source dataset called OpenAddresses. However, this data is largely missing information about apartment numbers at multi-unit residential addresses. Currently this limits MapTheVote to single-family housing. We know that it is crucial to expand our efforts to multi-unit housing, especially since these residences are more likely to have individuals with lower rates of voter registration (more likely to be renters and moving frequently, and have lower income).
Who will benefit (directly and indirectly) from your project?
Individuals who have difficulty registering to vote.
What other resources/tools are currently serving the same need? How does your project set itself apart?
As far as we know, we are the only project focused on improving voter registration rates by meeting people where they live. Another common method is to canvass for unregistered voters in public locations with high rates of pedestrian traffic, but this can be inefficient (as many people are already registered, and those who are not are unlikely to stop). It is also very difficult to track progress in random encounters, whereas the map helps focus efforts on those most in need.
Where can we find any research/data available/articles?
What help do you need now?
We have developed some ideas for tackling this problem (scraping the USPS website for apartment numbers). But have yet to come up with a scalable solution. We are currently focusing on ways to scrape the web to compile these lists of apartment numbers for addresses that we know are multi-unit residential addresses.
What are the next steps (validation, research, coding, design)?
The next steps are to brainstorm and crowdsource ideas from the broader community so that we can find new datasets or research new ideas. Once we have identified one or more solutions, we will focus on developing the tools to collect this data, and integrating it into Map The Vote.
How can we contact you outside of Github(list social media or places you're present)?
Email is probably the best way to reach us right now. We have a twitter account for both Register2Vote (@goRegister2Vote) and MapTheVote (@mapthevote), but neither is very active.
Cody Schank (codyschank@gmail.com)
Jeremy Smith (jeremydanielsmith@gmail.com)
Madi Eden (mk@bci.io)
Project management
Checklist for NEW ideas :baby:
Hey, you're official! You're now part of the growing civic hacking community in Austin. Here's a few things to get started (a couple you've probably already done).
[x] Create this idea issue
[x] Flesh out the who, where, and what questions above
[ ] Start the conversation about this idea on Slack Replace this link to the #general channel with your project's preferred channel.
Checklist for ACTIVE projects :fire:
Let's get this project started! When this idea starts taking off, the Projects Core Team will start helping this project's lead(s) out with project management and connecting you to resources you may need. To get there, please complete and check off the following:
[x] Post an update at least once a month to this issue. Use BASEDEF for ideas, but it's ok even if your update is just "nothing new happened this month" or "we saw a small increase in traffic to our app this month". If there's no activity for two months, that's no problem, life happens. We'll just label this as backlog so others know you'll get back to it when you have the time. If nobody hears from you at all in more than two months, we may mark it as abandoned so that others can pick up this idea and run with it.
[ ] Create a README file in your project repository. This file should help newcomers understand what your project is, why it's important, and kinds of help you're looking for.
[ ] Create issues to describe each task that you plan to do or need help with and how a contributor can get started on that task. You might start and stop a lot, so consider issues as your to-do list.
This will make it easier for you to manage your github repo access. People on a team have the same level of access. Admin access will allow your trusted contributors to make changes as needed.
You can remove and add people to your team as needed.
Note: You can also allow collaborators outside of your team and give them more limited access.
[ ] Create a user group in Slack so you can "@" your core contributors all at once, without bothering other people who use the Slack channel. You'll need permission from a Slack admin, so just mention @leadership on Slack to get this set up.
[ ] Create a Google Drive, Dropbox, or other cloud storage to share larger files. Github and Data.World are good for code and data, respectively, especially when you need version control. But they're not good for very large files, documentation, articles, etc. A cloud storage option will allow you to easily share, create, and collaborate on documents with your team and help organize ideas and thoughts.
Doing this early on can help your team stay organized and to onboard new contributors who wouldn't have access to files you all have shared over email.
Checklist for FEATURED Projects :tada:
To have your project FEATURED on Open-Austin.org, complete the following documentation. In past projects, well-documented featured projects have more contributions than other projects.
[ ] Create an issue on the open-austin.github.io repo with the title Add [my project] to projects page. An Open Austin leader will review this issue and post your project :balloon:
[ ] Tell the City of Austin. If your idea is in a shareable format and can benefit people around the city, go to that site and follow the instructions on the bottom of the page to showcase your work there.
If you get stuck at any point, feel free to reach out to the leadership team on Slack by adding @leadership to your message. We're here to help you make real changes to our city.
What problem are you trying to solve?
Register2Vote developed a tool called MapTheVote with the goal of identifying residential addresses where no registered voters reside, and using this information to target voter registration efforts (both by mail and door-knocking campaigns). We start with an open source dataset called OpenAddresses. However, this data is largely missing information about apartment numbers at multi-unit residential addresses. Currently this limits MapTheVote to single-family housing. We know that it is crucial to expand our efforts to multi-unit housing, especially since these residences are more likely to have individuals with lower rates of voter registration (more likely to be renters and moving frequently, and have lower income).
Who will benefit (directly and indirectly) from your project?
Individuals who have difficulty registering to vote.
What other resources/tools are currently serving the same need? How does your project set itself apart?
As far as we know, we are the only project focused on improving voter registration rates by meeting people where they live. Another common method is to canvass for unregistered voters in public locations with high rates of pedestrian traffic, but this can be inefficient (as many people are already registered, and those who are not are unlikely to stop). It is also very difficult to track progress in random encounters, whereas the map helps focus efforts on those most in need.
Where can we find any research/data available/articles?
What help do you need now?
We have developed some ideas for tackling this problem (scraping the USPS website for apartment numbers). But have yet to come up with a scalable solution. We are currently focusing on ways to scrape the web to compile these lists of apartment numbers for addresses that we know are multi-unit residential addresses.
What are the next steps (validation, research, coding, design)?
The next steps are to brainstorm and crowdsource ideas from the broader community so that we can find new datasets or research new ideas. Once we have identified one or more solutions, we will focus on developing the tools to collect this data, and integrating it into Map The Vote.
How can we contact you outside of Github(list social media or places you're present)?
Email is probably the best way to reach us right now. We have a twitter account for both Register2Vote (@goRegister2Vote) and MapTheVote (@mapthevote), but neither is very active.
Cody Schank (codyschank@gmail.com) Jeremy Smith (jeremydanielsmith@gmail.com) Madi Eden (mk@bci.io)
Project management
Checklist for NEW ideas :baby:
Hey, you're official! You're now part of the growing civic hacking community in Austin. Here's a few things to get started (a couple you've probably already done).
Checklist for ACTIVE projects :fire:
Let's get this project started! When this idea starts taking off, the Projects Core Team will start helping this project's lead(s) out with project management and connecting you to resources you may need. To get there, please complete and check off the following:
backlog
so others know you'll get back to it when you have the time. If nobody hears from you at all in more than two months, we may mark it asabandoned
so that others can pick up this idea and run with it.Checklist for FEATURED Projects :tada:
To have your project FEATURED on Open-Austin.org, complete the following documentation. In past projects, well-documented featured projects have more contributions than other projects.
Add [my project] to projects page
. An Open Austin leader will review this issue and post your project :balloon:If you get stuck at any point, feel free to reach out to the leadership team on Slack by adding @leadership to your message. We're here to help you make real changes to our city.