Forget campaign posters – young voters are looking elsewhere. For some entrepreneurs, the fight against voter apathy starts with smartphones.
Thierry Tardif is one of five Concordia students behind Vote Note, a new smartphone app that aims to make voting easier. It uses GPS technology to pinpoint the user's riding and shows them their candidates.
It also provides step-by-step instructions on how to vote, basic information Tardif says many of this peers just don't have.
And for a fee, candidates can create a profile and send potential voters invitations to events.
Ilona Dougherty has tested lots of ideas during her decade with "Apathy Is Boring,” an organization that aims to increase voter participation among young adults. She says more face time is actually the best way to engage millennials.
“You would absolutely think that going online is the way but voting is actually a social engagement. … It's about being connected to the community, so it's important that candidates and also non-partisan groups get out and mobilize especially first time voters to vote,” she said.
There may not be an app for ways to inspire voters, but Tardif believes bringing his peers the basics can be the first step to them casting a ballot.
The app is available for download for both iOS and Android devices.
