New app to better engage voters tested at Groom by-election

This new app seeks to better connect people with politics, and it’s being tested at the Groom by-election. Here’s everything you need to know.

A new app designed to help Australians better engage with politics and the democratic process is being trialled in the lead-up to the Groom by-election before a planned national rollout at the next federal election.

Nick Esse and Patrick Ellul founded the Ballot Box app a year and a half ago, hoping to better inform voters about politics.

“We’re not affiliated with any political party, or the government or the electoral commission,” Mr Esse said.

“Statements in the app are supplied by the candidates and published without any editing.

“Users of the app remain completely anonymous, only being asked to supply basic demographic information.

“It’s not tied to phone numbers or emails.”

A screenshot of the Ballot Box app.

Users can then interact with the policies, saying whether they think the proposals are important or not to them.

Mr Esse said ultimately that data, which is collected anonymously, would be presented back to stakeholders.

“Our goal is to present it back to politicians so they understand their electorate better,” he said.

“It could be provided to media organisations, pollsters, and other people who want to understand how people think in electorates.”

Mr Esse said the app was trialled in the state seat of Maiwar at the state election last month.

“The team saw a strong level of engagement and is expecting a similar result in Groom.” he said.

“Collecting more than 800 voter interactions on issues such as the Adani Coal mine, Ballot Box was able to inform the candidates what the electorate was thinking.”

Ballot Box is available on the App Store and the Google Play store.