Personalized Dashboard
Your Command Center for Civic Engagement
“Every citizen gets a personalized dashboard that will keep you informed about the issues that concern you the most. You can follow the topics, community leaders, and elected representatives that interest you while sharing the news, events, and opinion polls that will help your community stay informed and engaged.
We’re also leading the battle against misinformation by labeling fake news and AI-created content and providing links to all the facts. We know knowledge is power. So we're making MyVote your gateway to public records and educational resources like libraries, historical records, and government archives that will allow all of us to build a better future by learning from our collective past.”
- MyVote Demo Video
The Problem: Drowning in Information, Starving for Knowledge
We all want to be an informed citizens, but the system seems designed to make that impossible.
The information overload crisis is breaking civic engagement:
Every day, we are bombarded with thousands of messages screaming for our attention. Our phone buzzes with breaking news alerts that contradict each other within hours. Social media feeds overflow with outrage, conspiracy theories, and emotional manipulation disguised as news. Cable news networks turn every issue into a five-alarm fire designed to keep everyone watching through the next commercial break.
Meanwhile, the information we actually need—the city council meeting agenda, the text of legislation our representative is voting on tomorrow, the real facts about that local issue everyone’s arguing about—is buried on a government website designed in 2003 that requires seventeen clicks to find anything useful.
Here’s what trying to be an informed citizen looks like today…
Information Scattered Everywhere: Want to know what your city council is doing? Check their website (maybe). What about your school board? Different website. State legislature? Another site. Your congressional representative? Yet another platform. Federal agencies? Dozens of different portals. Nothing connects. Nothing centralizes. You need a PhD in website navigation just to find basic information.
Critical Information Hidden: The most important decisions affecting your life happen in obscure meetings with barely any notice. A zoning change that will put a factory next to your child’s school? Mentioned once in a legal notice in the local paper and on a government website you’ve never heard of. By the time you find out, the decision’s been made and the public comment period is closed.
Misinformation Floods the Zone: For every legitimate news article, there are fifty misleading posts, manipulated videos, and outright fabrications. Russia, China, and Iran spend millions creating sophisticated propaganda. Domestic political operatives create fake “news” sites that look legitimate. AI-generated content is indistinguishable from real journalism. It’s literally impossible to tell what’s true anymore.
Algorithm Manipulation: Social media platforms don’t show what’s important—they show what keeps you engaged. Facebook’s algorithm promotes outrage because angry people click more ads. TikTok’s algorithm optimizes for watch time, not truth. YouTube’s recommendations can lead people toward more extreme content. We are not getting informed—we are being manipulated.
No Context, All Emotion: A bill gets one-sentence headlines: “Congress Votes to Slash Medicare!” What actually happened? A 0.3% reduction in the rate of growth over ten years, maintaining current benefit levels. But nuance doesn’t drive clicks, so we never get the full story. We just get rage bait.
Fake Grassroots Everywhere: That “concerned parents group” flooding our feed with school board posts? Funded by a national political organization. That “local business coalition” opposing regulations? A shell group for a multinational corporation. That “community petition” with 10,000 signatures? Most are bots and fake accounts. We can’t tell what’s real grassroots concern and what’s astroturfed manipulation.
Educational Resources Siloed and Inaccessible: Want to understand the historical context of an issue? Good luck finding it. Libraries have archives, but they’re not digitized. Government records exist, but they’re scattered across agencies. Historical documents are locked in physical repositories. Academic research is behind paywalls. The knowledge exists—we just can’t find it when we need it.
Cognitive Exhaustion: We are so overwhelmed trying to separate truth from lies, so exhausted from information overload, so frustrated by the impossibility of staying informed, that we just give up. It’s easier to tune out entirely or retreat into whatever information bubble confirms our existing beliefs.
The human cost of information chaos…
A grandmother believes false information about vaccines and convinces her daughter not to immunize her grandchildren. A small business owner votes against his own economic interests because he’s been fed sophisticated misinformation about tax policy. A community opposes a needed infrastructure project based on fabricated public safety concerns spread by profit-driven competitors. A parent pulls their child from public school based on viral lies about curriculum that was never actually taught.
Meanwhile, corporations and special interests have entire teams monitoring legislative activity, tracking regulatory changes, and analyzing policy impacts. They are informed. They are engaged. They are effective. All of us are just struggling to figure out what’s true.
This isn’t an accident. An uninformed, confused, exhausted citizenry is easier to manipulate and control. And information chaos serves powerful interests while disempowering you.
The Solution: Your Personalized Civic Command Center
MyVote creates a single, personalized, verified information hub that cuts through the noise and delivers exactly what you need to be an informed, engaged citizen—nothing more, nothing less.
Here’s how your MyVote Dashboard works…
Intelligent Personalization: Follow What Matters to You
When you set up MyVote, you customize your dashboard based on your actual interests and responsibilities.
Location and Jurisdictions
The system automatically identifies all governing bodies that affect you:
• Springfield City Council (Ward 3)
• Springfield Public Schools Board
• Sangamon County Board of Supervisors
• Illinois State Legislature (District 87 House, District 44 Senate)
• U.S. House (IL-13)
• U.S. Senate (Illinois)
• Relevant federal agencies (based on your interests and demographics)
Topics of Interest
You choose what issues you want to track:
• Education policy (you have school-age children)
• Small business regulations (you own a bakery)
• Veterans affairs (you’re a veteran)
• Environmental policy (you care about climate)
• Healthcare policy (your mother is on Medicare)
Representatives
Follow the elected officials who represent you:
• Mayor
• City Council Members
• State Representatives
• State Senator
• U.S. House Representative
• U.S. Senators
Community Leaders and Organizations
Follow verified accounts for:
• The Chamber of Commerce
• Local Veterans Organization
• School principals
• Environmental advocacy groups
• Local newspaper
Every morning, you open your Dashboard and immediately see…
Today’s Relevant Activity:
• “City Council meets tonight at 7 p.m. - Agenda includes zoning proposal affecting Main Street businesses.”
• “State Rep. Williams voting today on HB 2847 (Small Business Tax Relief Act) - District polling shows 73% support.”
• “New study published on veteran healthcare wait times in your region.”
• “Springfield School Board election candidate forum this Thursday.”
Upcoming Decisions That Affect You:
• “Public comment period closes Friday for EPA regulation affecting small bakeries - Submit your input.”
• “Town hall on proposed highway expansion through Springfield - Tuesday 6 p.m. at Community Center.”
• “State budget proposal includes $50M cut to education funding - Contact your state rep.”
Personalized News and Analysis:
Not random news—news specifically relevant to your chosen topics and location:
• Local journalism about Springfield issues
• Verified national reporting on education policy
• Veterans Affairs policy updates
• Environmental policy analysis
• Healthcare reform developments
All verified, contextualized, and directly relevant to your life.
Real-Time Legislative Tracking: Never Miss What Matters
Your dashboard tracks every bill, regulation, and policy development relevant to your interests, showing you legislation at every level.
Bill Tracking:
• Local: “Ordinance 2025-47: Plastic Bag Ban - Planning Commission recommends approval - City Council vote scheduled 11/15.”
• State: “HB 2845: Small Business Tax Relief - Passed House 89-28 - Now in Senate Finance Committee.”
• Federal: “HR 1234: Veterans Healthcare Expansion Act - House vote expected next week - Your rep hasn’t declared position yet.”
For Each Bill, You Get:
• Plain-language summary (not legalese—actual English explaining what it does)
• Full text (if you want to read the actual legislation)
• Fiscal impact (what it costs, who pays, what it funds)
• Stakeholder positions (who supports, who opposes, why)
• Constituent polling (what people in your district think)
• Your representative’s position (and how it aligns with district opinion)
• Action options (contact your rep, sign petition, share with others)
Automatic Alerts:
• “HB 2847 scheduled for vote tomorrow - your rep hasn’t declared a position - contact them now.”
• “City Council added a surprise item to tonight’s agenda: rezoning proposal affecting your neighborhood.”
• “Final day to submit public comment on small bakery regulations.”
Historical Context:
• “Similar legislation failed in 2018 due to lobbying by [Industry Group].”
• “This is the third attempt to pass this reform in five years.”
• “Previous version was vetoed by the Governor - key differences in this version.”
Verified News and Information: Truth Over Noise
MyVote aggregates news from verified sources and clearly labels everything.
Source Verification:
Every news item shows:
• Verified Journalism - From credentialed news organizations with editorial standards.
• Official Government Information - Direct from government agencies.
• Expert Analysis - From verified subject matter experts with credentials.
• Opinion/Commentary - Clearly labeled as opinion, not fact reporting.
• User-Generated Content and Comments - From authenticated citizens, clearly distinguished from journalism.
AI Content Labeling:
MyVote technology will also automatically identify and label:
• AI-Generated Text - Content written by AI systems.
• AI-Manipulated Images - Photos altered by AI (deepfakes, manipulations).
• AI-Generated Video - Synthetic video content.
This doesn’t ban AI content—it just ensures you know what you are consuming.
Misinformation Flagging:
Content flagged by fact-checkers shows:
• False ❌ - Definitively untrue, fact-checked by multiple verified sources.
• Misleading ⚠️ - Technically true but missing critical context.
• Unverified ❓ - Claims that cannot currently be confirmed.
• Context Needed ℹ️ - True but requires additional information to understand.
Each Flag Includes:
• Links to fact-checks from multiple independent sources.
• Explanation of what’s false/misleading and why.
• Links to accurate information on the topic.
• Source credibility ratings.
Example:
You see a viral video in your feed: “Springfield Mayor caught on camera saying she’ll raise property taxes 40%!”
MyVote labels it:
• AI-Manipulated Video - Audio has been altered using AI voice synthesis.
• Misleading - Quote taken out of context from a longer discussion.
• Fact-checks from 3 sources provided.
• Link to full, unedited video of the meeting.
• Mayor’s verified MyVote account with her own response.
You can still watch it if you want—but you know exactly what you’re looking at.
Direct Access to Public Records and Archives
MyVote is your gateway to the knowledge that’s been locked away.
Integrated Government Records:
• Meeting minutes and agendas for every government body that represents you.
• Voting records for every elected official, searchable and downloadable.
• Budget documents in both full detail and plain-language summaries.
• Public records requests simplified—file and track FOI requests directly through MyVote.
• Regulatory filings affecting your business or industry.
• Court records for public cases (properly anonymized for privacy where required).
• Property records searchable by address.
• Business licenses and permits - see who’s operating what in your area.
Digital Library Integration:
MyVote connects you to:
• Library of Congress digital collections - millions of historical documents, photos, recordings.
• National Archives - founding documents, historical records, declassified materials.
• State archives - local history, legislative history, historical photos and documents.
• University research repositories - academic studies and papers on policy issues.
• Public library systems - ebooks, research databases, local history collections.
Searchable by Topic:
Researching education policy? MyVote finds:
• Historical education legislation and outcomes.
• Academic research on education reforms.
• Government reports on education spending and performance.
• Primary source documents from education debates throughout history.
• Case studies from other states and countries.
All in one search, with proper context and verification.
Educational Context for Current Events:
When you read about a current issue, MyVote provides historical context:
Reading about a border security debate? See links to relevant information about:
• Previous immigration legislation and its outcomes.
• Historical immigration patterns and policies.
• Academic research on immigration’s economic impacts.
• Primary sources from past immigration debates.
• International comparisons showing how other countries handle similar issues.
Not to tell you what to think—but to give you the knowledge to think critically.
Community Engagement Hub
Your dashboard isn’t just for consuming information—it’s for engaging with your community in a virtual town square.
Local Events Calendar:
• Town halls and public meetings
• Candidate forums and debates
• Community organizing events
• Educational workshops on civic topics
• Voter registration drives
• Public comment opportunities
Discussion Forums by Topic:
• Authenticated citizens discussing issues (no bots, no trolls)
• Moderated to prevent abuse while encouraging robust debate
• Verified experts available to answer questions
• Representatives can participate directly
• Community consensus-building on local issues
Sharing Tools:
• Share verified news articles with friends (not misinformation)
• Forward meeting notices to neighbors
• Organize carpools to town halls
• Create study groups for ballot initiatives
• Build coalitions around issues you care about
Polls and Surveys:
• Quick pulse checks on emerging issues
• In-depth opinion surveys on complex topics
• See how your community thinks about issues
• Compare your views to neighbors’
• Share results with representatives
Notification Control Center
You control exactly how and when MyVote reaches you:
Notification Priorities:
• Urgent: Immediate votes, last-minute meeting changes, breaking news directly affecting you.
• Important: Upcoming votes, deadlines, major policy developments.
• Informational: General updates, news articles on topics you follow, community events.
• Digest: Weekly summary of activity (for people who don’t want constant notifications).
Channel Preferences:
• Push notifications to phone
• Email summaries
• Text message alerts (for urgent items only)
• In-app notifications
Granular Control:
• “Notify me immediately about Springfield City Council activity.”
• “Weekly digest for state legislature activity.”
• “Urgent only for federal legislation.”
• “Notify me about veterans issues but not other topics.”
You decide. MyVote adapts to your needs, not the other way around.
Real-World Results: What Information Democracy Achieves
Estonia, Finland, Taiwan, and Denmark are just 4 the 25 nations with functional electronic governance systems that prove everyday how successful digital democracy can be.
Estonia’s Public Information Architecture:
• All government data is centralized and accessible through a single platform.
• Citizens can see every government decision and action affecting them.
• Result: 83% satisfaction with administrative services (2023), high civic engagement.
Finland’s Media Literacy Success:
• Comprehensive media literacy education integrated into daily life.
• Citizens trained to recognize misinformation and verify sources.
• Result: Ranked #1 globally in resistance to misinformation for five consecutive years (2017-2023), despite being targeted by Russian disinformation campaigns.
Taiwan’s Civic Tech Movement:
• g0v (gov-zero) platform aggregates government data and makes it accessible.
• Citizens create tools to visualize and understand public information.
• Result: Highly informed citizenry that successfully resists Chinese disinformation operations.
Denmark’s Digital Government Integration:
• Single digital portal for all government services and information.
• Personalized dashboard showing relevant government activity.
• Result: 90%+ digital government usage, extremely high citizen satisfaction and trust.
Why This Matters to You
Time: Instead of spending hours hunting for information across dozens of websites, you get everything relevant in one place. Five minutes on MyVote gives you more useful civic information than an hour of doomscrolling social media.
Truth: You know what’s real and what’s not. AI labels, fact-checks, and source verification mean you can trust what you’re reading—and you know when you shouldn’t.
Power: Knowledge really is power. When you understand what’s happening, why it matters, and what you can do about it, you become a more effective citizen. You make better decisions. You engage more productively.
Connection: You discover you’re not alone. Your neighbors care about the same issues. Your community is more aligned than mass-media makes it seem. You find common ground and build coalitions.
Sanity: The information overload stops. The emotional manipulation ends. The algorithm chaos disappears. You get what you need without the exhaustion.
The Bottom Line
For too long, powerful interests have benefited from keeping citizens confused, overwhelmed, and misinformed—because a confused citizen can be manipulated, an exhausted citizen gives up, and a misinformed citizen makes bad decisions. MyVote changes that equation by giving you a personalized, verified, comprehensive information hub that turns you from a passive consumer of manipulated media into an active, informed participant in democracy. Instead of flooding you with noise, it organizes information to match your needs and interests, with a personalized dashboard that integrates verified news, labeled AI content, fact-checked claims, and direct access to public records and educational resources.
No information overload, no opaque algorithms gaming your attention, no misinformation chaos—just the knowledge you need to be an engaged citizen, delivered clearly and on your terms, right in your pocket.
Summary of Best Practices
How MyVote Implements the Dashboard
Privacy-Preserving Personalization
Your interests and preferences are private.
• MyVote knows what topics you follow—but this data is not sold, shared, or used for advertising.
• Your reading history is not tracked for commercial purposes.
• Your political preferences are not profiled or monetized.
• You can change interests anytime without judgment or manipulation.
Algorithm Transparency
Unlike the black-box algorithms of social media, MyVote’s information delivery is transparent:
• You know why you’re seeing what you’re seeing (it matches your stated interests).
• No hidden manipulation to maximize engagement.
• No A/B testing different emotional triggers.
• No filter bubble—you see opposing viewpoints on issues you follow.
• You can see and adjust the algorithm parameters yourself.
Quality Source Curation
MyVote includes news from verified sources across the political spectrum:
• Local newspapers and regional journalism.
• National news organizations with editorial standards.
• International reporting for context.
• Verified expert analysis and commentary.
• Official government information.
• Academic research and policy analysis.
Sources are evaluated on journalistic standards, not political leanings. Conservative and progressive sources are both included if they meet quality standards.
Fact-Checking Infrastructure
MyVote partners with independent fact-checking organizations:
• PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, Snopes, and others.
• International fact-checking networks.
• Academic fact-checking initiatives.
• Media literacy organizations.
Fact-checks are clearly attributed. Multiple sources are cited. You can verify the fact-checkers’ work yourself.
Accessibility for All
• Multiple language support - content available in the primary languages spoken in your community.
• Screen reader compatible - fully accessible for visually impaired users.
• Simplified reading levels - complex policy explained at multiple reading levels.
• Audio versions - text-to-speech for all written content.
• Visual representations - charts, graphs, and infographics for visual learners.
• Video content - captioned and audio-described.
Digital Literacy Resources
MyVote includes the standard national K-12 educational curriculum content, as well as:
• How to evaluate news sources.
• Recognizing misinformation tactics.
• Understanding media bias vs journalistic standards.
• Spotting AI-generated content.
• Verifying claims yourself.
• Understanding statistics and data visualization.
• Critical thinking about political messaging.
These aren’t locked away—they’re integrated into the platform where you encounter information.
