Election Innovation w/ Nimit Sawhney & Hilary Braseth

Since the United States was founded more than 200 years ago, a lot has changed. We have gone from horses to gasoline-powered cars, and now to electric vehicles. The phonograph has come and gone, as have 8 tracks, cassettes and even CDs.  We have seen the advent of the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence. 

But there is at least one industry that hasn’t changed since the 18th century.

How we vote. We still vote in much the same way as we did when our country was founded. You go to a polling location, you mark a paper ballot with a pencil, and drop your ballot off in a box to be counted.  Sometimes by a machine, and often recounted manually when people don’t like the results. It would seem to me like there must be a better way.

We use technology to send mail, transfer money, get a mortgage and we even let technology drive our car for us.  But still, we insist on using paper ballots.

Well - on today’s episode - we explore a company and technology that’s working to radically change how we interact with and vote in elections. We hear from Voatz CEO Nimit Saw-knee and their Director of Product Hilary Bra-seth.  Voatz is a startup based in Boston that has developed a secure and traceable way to vote from your smartphone. It’s not just another app for your phone, but a really interesting election system that uses technology to make voting more accessible and more secure.  

Like Hilary said “What’s at stake is far too great for us to not be trying to develop solutions in support of participation”

Please check out the episode in the above link. If you have an opinion on these topics, please feel free to email us through the contact page. The best ideas often stem from the intersection of different points of view. The episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!