Sometimes, change is new and flashy. Others, it's a pendulum swinging back to the wisdom of older ways. Today's political system is broken, but two startups are changing the game in November's general election - one puts national and local election information in the palm of your hand, and the other with good old-fashioned grassroots campaigning.

Can an app get people to the ballot box?

Victor Allis, Paul-Erik Raué, and Sara Gifford co-founded ActiVote, a nonpartisan app providing access to a list of local, statewide, and national elections and candidate profiles. The three joined forces while developing scheduling, planning, and supply chain optimization software at Quintiq. When they left to start their new venture, their goal was to bring something meaningful to society.

They began exploring why so many people choose not to exercise their right to vote. They discovered that, in today's fast-paced culture, voting has been pushed to the back burner of most people's minds. The process is time-consuming and confusing, and finding reliable information about local candidates can be challenging. Without having clear reasons to support one candidate over another, most people lack the motivation to stand in line at the ballot box.

Allis, Raué, and Gifford designed ActiVote as a one-stop-shop to bring meaning back to the election process and make it accessible. "We provide simple, consumable information to voters," Gifford explains. "We're like the Duolingo of democracy. When voters see what candidates believe, and when voting becomes less daunting, people become empowered."

ActiVote poses a daily question concerning federal, state, and local public policy to its users. Based on responses, the app's algorithm plots those users and their applicable candidates into a political matrix. By answering the questions, users learn about policy step-by-step and determine how their beliefs align with candidates in upcoming elections.

ActiVote's mission is strictly nonpartisan; the app's only goal is to increase voter participation. "We undertook this project with the vision of seeing more people participate in democracy," Gifford says. "We're not swaying people's choices. We are empowering them to have a choice. Confidence inspires action, and we aim to create confidence in the electoral process."

The app went live in 2019. ActiVote's internal research revealed that infrequent voters who engage with the app are 30% more likely to vote. "You don't have to worry about research," remarks Gifford. "We put all the information in the palm of your hand."

Can grassroots campaigning be a game changer in modern-day elections?

Sole Strategies is another political startup, but this group is transforming elections through a return to grassroots campaigning. It lends its political expertise to "people-powered" campaigns that are supported by the community.

"We are called 'Sole Strategies' because we encourage our candidates to wear out the soles of their shoes," explains Zee Cohen-Sanchez, Sole's founder and Executive Director. "We want our candidates and staff out talking to the people. You have to have soul to win a race."  

Though Sole employs old-fashioned campaigning techniques, they don't hesitate to blend them with the latest technology. "We are cutting edge when it comes to using tech as a campaigning tool," says Cohen-Sanchez. "For example, we used to post graphics to Instagram, but now we're posting videos to TikTok. We're streaming targeted campaign ads because the cost per-mile delivers higher engagement than television ads. At our core, however, we believe traditional canvassing has the greatest impact on voter conversion rate. The people who vote for you are most often the people you talk to face to face."

Sole Strategies offers a game-changing approach to elections by eliminating the need for political consultants. Before launching Sole Strategies, Cohen-Sanchez was a self-described road warrior, jumping from campaign to campaign across the country. "All the campaigns I worked shared one thing in common," she reflects. "They all had what seemed like millions of highly-paid consultants talking strategy, but very few staff doing real work."

Sole Strategies believes the most effective staff live where candidates campaign. They mobilize field operations by finding local talent and people who can relate to that community. Sole's approach can be summed up as "more field work leads to more votes." Whether it's new voters who are turning 18 before election day or disillusioned voters who have given up on the system, Sole believes a conversation has the power to bring people to the ballot box.

This year's elections are getting a makeover with the best of the old and the new. Readers can visit the ActiVote website at acti.vote/pressO, or download the app in the App Store for iOS devices or the Google Play store. To learn more about Sole Strategies, readers can visit their website and follow them on Twitter.