App developed by Teenager can scrutinize election contestants

Votr is an app that uses your postcode to organize tweets of the candidate and offers you to swipe just like the Tinder dating app.

Now there is a digital-savvy way to scrutinise the candidate looking for your votes. Votr has been developed by Londoners Zak Cutner and Freddie Poser and uses your postcode to collate all the tweets of those gunning for elections in your area.

The tweeter’s identity and overt party references will remain obscured as you judge the post. You may click right if you approve the tweet, left if you don’t and click up if the tweet leaves you cold. A swipe down will disclose the name of candidate(s), parties and how well they have fared in winning approval of locals.

According to the 16-year old Cutner:

“We found an electoral commission survey which showed that young people wanted to know more about their candidates.”

Votr is available on Android and iOS.

The developer duo believes that the Votr’s party-blind feature will challenge voters to judge candidates without preconceptions and prejudices. The 15-year old Poser says,

“It’s showing someone that there are other parties and they are saying sensible things – you can’t just write it off as right wing fascism and left wing socialism. The candidate is so important because they are going to be the person in the House of Commons. So if you are voting for your candidate on the back of what their party believes maybe you’re not making a fully informed decision. What you are getting are the actual tweets of your candidates – it’s not a sanitised party line.”

The developer teens created a prototype during the Young Rewired State coding festival last year. Currently Votr is available on the App Store and Google Play and attracting attention.

The Guardian