BallotNav is a project of Hack for LA. Hack for LA is a brigade of a Code for America that exists to connect citizens with civic rights and responsibilities. BallotNav helps those who are concerned about using USPS for their mail-in ballots find their local drop-off points and their available days/times. The app's main features include locating the drop-off points closest to the user, and displaying what dates and times they are available; pulling in this information as it becomes available from county election supervisors; and connecting with users' social accounts to encourage dissemination of the tool and information.
This project came to exist during the 2020 presidential election. In the midst of voters having to decide voting at the polls which carried the possibility of covid-19 infection, while at the same time, the USPS unreliability. Although the presidential election has passed, we believe voters will continue to utilize mail-in-ballots for future elections due to accessibility and safety. Although mail-in ballots may be securely dropped-off in person, the locations do not necessarily correspond to polling places, drop-offs may need to be made on specific dates and times under varying conditions to be valid, and this information can be hard to locate. A centralized, specific tool for locating this information may assist in maintaining the franchise for some individuals who might either give up in frustration, or run the risk of their vote being uncounted due to mail failures.
How is Voting Related to the Social Safety Net?
If you are interested in joining the cause to help every citizen across the US have their voice heard, please reach out to ballotnav@hackforla.org for available volunteer opportunities.
This guide will help get you up to speed on what you need to know to get started as a project team member. Let's go!
- Read Project Context and More Information (above)
- Join the #BallotNav slack channel and introduce yourself.
- Slack our PMs Karen Coronel or Stacey Rebekah Scott
- Accept your Google Drive invite to access the shared folder.
- Add yourself to the Team Roster. Then, Slack our PM with "Added to Roster".
- Enable Two Factor Authentication on your Github Account
- Read project details and review our Project Management Board
- Weekly team meetings will be Tuesday's 6PM - 7PM (times listed in PT), join our Slack for Zoom link
If you are technical consider reading our technologies doc
Please contact us at (ballotnav@hackforla.org) for any inquires.