What is smartvote?
What is smartvote?
smartvote is a so-called voting advice application (VAA). Based on a comprehensive questionnaire on a wide range of political topics, smartvote allows voters to compare their own political viewpoints with those of political parties and candidates.
How does smartvote work?
Candidates answer the smartvote questionnaire several weeks in front of the upcoming elections. By doing so they generate their political profile. These profiles are saved in a database. Subsequently voters can answer the same questionnaire on the smartvote website. smartvote compares their answers with those of the candidates. As a result and as a voting advice smartvote presents for each voter a specific ranking of all participating candidates, ranking those candidates with the best answer matching at the top of the list.
What are the goals of smartvote?
smartvote intends to help voters with their electoral decision by providing them with improved information about the candidates' political positions. smartvote offers voters the possibility to choose those candidates who match best their own viewpoints on politics.
Who is operating smartvote?
smartvote exists since 2003. The non-profit NGO Politools is developping and operating smartvote. Politools is seated in Berne and works as an interdisciplinary research networtk, that develops web-based projects in order to enhance political interest and to improve the level of political knowledge among citizens.
Usage of smartvote during the national elections 2007 and 2011
In the electoral campaign of the 2007 and the 2011 national elections smartvote was intensly used. In 2011 smartvote generated about 1,2 million voting advice. Almost 3000 candidates participated and answered the questionnaire. At his peak smartvote registered 40'000 visitors.
