As frustrations mount in the political arena, the new website Americans Elect allows Internet users to bypass political party allegiances and select a new presidential candidate.
The website works by having new users rank political priorities, such as economics and foreign policy, and answer questions to gauge their political positions. Through online surveys and forums, Americans Elect will match users with a unique candidate and, eventually, place that candidate on the national ballots.
Reserving a position on the presidential ballot in all 50 states is no small task, though, and Mardi Gauthier, early education junior, is doing her part to advance the movement.
Gauthier is the on-campus leader for Americans Elect at LSU.
“I feel like this could be the future,” she said.
According to Gauthier, candidate registration will begin next spring and an online convention to select one will follow in June. The primary process will also involve debates featuring the most popular candidates, and online voters will choose the questions asked.
The website also features forums where politics can be discussed and debate questions decided.
“It’s trying to change government in what I think is a helpful way,” Gauthier said.
Gauthier sees the utilization of user input as one of the most promising aspects of the project.
“It’s their questions that are getting answered,” she said.
And the response on campus has been positive, Gauthier said. She estimated Americans Elect now has a presence on about 50 campuses nationwide.
“We’re just tired of not having choices,” Gauthier said. “All that this stands for is being able to Democrat.”
She said this approach will especially appeal to voters who are politically apathetic or “don’t want to subscribe to party are.”
Gauthier first heard about Americans Elect when COO Elliot Ackerman appeared on “The Colbert Report” on Aug. 10.
By that time, Americans Elect had garnered approximately 1.6 million signatures for its ballot petition in California, breaking state records there.
 
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Contact Clayton Crockett at [email protected]