FastCompany: “A site called IssueVoter is designed to make it much simpler to follow what elected officials are doing, easily share opinions about proposed bills, and track the results of votes.“I use this analogy: When you hire someone, and you pay and promote them, you get to see their work and evaluate the work they’re doing,” says Maria Yuan, IssueVoter founder and CEO. “But when we vote for someone we don’t necessarily see the work they’re doing, yet we do continue to reelect our elected officials.” Before a vote, the site sends users targeted alerts outlining the arguments for and against the bill. After reading the details, users can click a simple “oppose” or “support” button to send their representative’s office an anonymous message with their opinion. (Contrary to some stereotypes, legislators do care what voters think about issues–and staffers keep tallies of constituent sentiment).

Via IssueVoter: “When we vote, we’re hiring our elected officials. We pay their salaries with our tax dollars. Imagine hiring an employee, paying and promoting them, yet never seeing any of their work. That’s essentially what we’re all doing when we vote & re- elect. And incumbents are re-elected over 90% of the time. We’re living with an outdated system

• Bills are difficult to research and understand,
• Contacting reps still involves snail mail, picking up the phone, or filling out long forms online,
• Petitions don’t work. To elected officials, petitions are merely a list of names – you may not be one of their voters, and the person signing the petition has no way to track outcomes

Engage with Your Political Process
Track your rep’s activity. We tell you how your rep voted, how often your representative agrees with you, and whether or not they’ve attended a vote. Encourage open discussion. You can share an issue on your favorite social network, without revealing your personal opinion. Act on issues that don’t make headlines. We don’t only tell you about what is breaking the news; we check for updates every hour to make sure you have the latest information. Become an informed voter. Using IssueVoter year-round informs you before elections and keeps money’s influence out of your opinion. Only re-elect reps who truly represented you.”