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Ask HN: Are there any startups that work on improving or reinventing democracy?

4 points| brisky | 3 years ago

10 comments

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[+] physicsgraph|3 years ago|reply
If "startup" is defined as a for-profit company, then I'm not aware of any. There are non-profit organizations that work on alternative voting (Approval voting [0] and STAR voting [1] and Instant Run-off/Rank Choice), non-partisan primaries, non-partisan districting, proportional representation (no districts), electoral college reform.

[0] https://electionscience.org/

[1] https://www.starvoting.us/

[+] troydavis|3 years ago|reply
If OP is looking for a high-impact way to work on this problem while also receiving some pay, The Center for Election Science is hiring a director of operations and outreach: https://electionscience.org/ces-updates/were-hiring-a-direct...

They’re entirely remote and use Discord, which has been neat to see as a supporter.

(Disclosure: Although I’m not affiliated with the group, I’m a big fan and I’m co-leading the campaign to adopt approval voting in Seattle. In a sense, I’ve chosen to advocate for this change without pay, so I’m very biased!)

[+] brisky|3 years ago|reply
Thanks, this is helpful
[+] ElSinchi|3 years ago|reply
Valley mentality.

Everything is solved with an app

[+] brisky|3 years ago|reply
Maybe not solved, but improved. We have technology to give people a better way to express their democratic voice. Without innovation the democratic process becomes stale and broken. That is what we see today.
[+] yuppie_scum|3 years ago|reply
Nonprofits are startup-like. You are just not going to get that six figure salary you are accustomed to. At least not til you reach the c-suite.
[+] jstx1|3 years ago|reply
Not everything can be solved by a startup.
[+] h2odragon|3 years ago|reply
Probably some nontraditional nonprofits but they're likely to be classified as "Terrorist organizations" by those who disagree with their goals... Defnitely a higher risk investment.
[+] ironmagma|3 years ago|reply
Yes, probably too many. Check AngelList.
[+] stevenalowe|3 years ago|reply
The main improvement to democracy was liberalism (the belief that individual rights trump majority rule). Is there an app for that?