PoliPicker

Inspiration

After the opening ceremony, we felt inspired to create something impactful for civic innovation. Originally, we considered an urban planning application to guide governments on where to build discount supermarkets in minority and underrepresented communities, ensuring access to affordable, healthy produce. However, we realized that the implementation of such a tool would depend on the current government's priorities. This led Kai, one of our team members, to share his personal challenge: feeling uninformed about political candidates made voting difficult for him.

From this, PoliPicker was born. On a college campus, where you're constantly asked if you've registered to vote, the process can feel overwhelming. PoliPicker aims to lessen the insecurity and obscurity that surrounds elections, both on the local stage and national. In a critical year like 2024, your vote is more important than ever. PoliPicker empowers you to make informed decisions by providing an easy way to explore candidates and their policies, so you can confidently support those who align with your beliefs.

What it does

PoliPicker.us is an interactive website designed to provide users with a personalized political experience. It offers:
Current news and updates on local elections.
A comprehensive search feature with tens of thousands of American politicians, from local to national levels.
AI-powered profiles summarizing each politician’s key views.
Politician recommendations based on your party affiliation and priority issues.
An AI-driven comparison tool for easily analyzing and contrasting candidates.

How we built it

We secured the PoliPicker domain from GoDaddy Registry and hosted it through Porkbun PHP. Using FileZilla's SFTP, we transferred and managed files written in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and Python. We integrated data from the VoteSmart API, Wikipedia API, and Google Custom Search JSON API and used Gemini API for data analysis.

Challenges we ran into

A large challenge was working with unfamiliar technologies. With minimal experience in HTML, CSS, Flask, JavaScript, and PHP, setting up the domain and remotely uploading files was tricky, and PHP presented a significant hurdle. After that, connecting our front-end and back-end systems turned out to be more challenging than expected. However, through teamwork and perseverance, we managed to implement nearly all the features we envisioned.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

For our first national hackathon, we’re incredibly proud of both the idea and the execution. Despite our limited experience in web development, we successfully brought PoliPicker to life through adaptability and collaboration. The project wasn't without obstacles, but our teamwork and problem-solving skills kept us motivated.

What we learned

We gained valuable experience in front-end development, building a dynamic website from the ground up, integrating APIs, and managing user interfaces alongside programmable scripts. Beyond technical skills, we learned the importance of teamwork, organization, delegation, and effective communication, all of which contributed to achieving our shared goal.

What's next for PoliPicker

Moving forward, we plan to improve the website’s interface and functionality by adding features like a high-contrast mode for better accessibility and more personalized user experiences. We aim to enhance security, error handling, and expand features to further support voters, including showing nearby polling locations and offering resources for registration and mail-in ballot requests. More importantly, we hope that PoliPicker empowers you to feel confident in your vote.