Disclaimer: This Inside South Florida segment is sponsored by Democracy Test Kitchen. All opinions and views are of the advertiser and does not reflect the same of WSFL-TV.
Understanding where political candidates stand on the issues that matter to you can take time and research. A platform called Democracy Test Kitchen is trying to make that process more straightforward for voters.
Dr. Stan Humphries, co-founder of Democracy Test Kitchen, says the free, nonpartisan platform is designed to help make politics more understandable for typical voters while giving people a clearer picture of what they may get when they vote for a particular candidate.
Comparing Candidates With the Issues Voters Care About
According to Humphries, Democracy Test Kitchen collects political information from sources including candidate statements, campaign literature, social media, news coverage, and debates.
That information is then compared with issues voters care about. In Florida, Humphries said the platform looks at about 100 different issues, ranging from data centers and immigration to abortion and foreign wars.
The platform presents its assessment of where each candidate stands on individual issues. Voters can then indicate their own position, allowing the service to show the alignment between the voter's preferences and what the candidate is expected to do.
Giving Voters a Look at the Sources
Humphries says transparency is another component of the platform.
Rather than simply presenting an assessment of a candidate's position, Democracy Test Kitchen allows voters to inspect why the platform reached its conclusion and review the sourcing behind it.
The goal, Humphries says, is to turn what can be an opaque political process into something more straightforward for voters.
Applying Experience From Zillow to Politics
Humphries also discussed the experience the team brings to the project.
He said many members of the Democracy Test Kitchen team previously worked at Zillow, where they spent years organizing real estate information to help consumers make decisions.
Humphries sees similarities between organizing complicated real estate information and helping voters navigate political information.
Looking Beyond Election Day
The platform isn't intended to stop tracking candidates once the votes are counted.
Humphries said Democracy Test Kitchen plans to show users who was elected and what those elected officials do once they take office. The platform also intends to let users provide feedback on their performance.
The broader goal, according to Humphries, is to create greater accountability between elected representatives and their constituents by helping voters compare what officials do in office with what they previously said they would do.
Visit Democracytestkitchen.com for more information.
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