A website has been set up by continental open data incubator Code for Africa using publicly available data to help Kenyans find voter registration centres so that they can ensure they are eligible to vote in come 2017 general election.
Got to Vote! Kenya , was built as a Code for Kenya data journalism project to demonstrate how data-driven tools can help ordinary citizens engage more effectively in the political processes happening around them.
With one week left, the month-long registration exercise has been characterized by low voter turnout, with the country’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission noting that part of the problem is a general lack of awareness on the location of these registration centers.
The Got to Vote database contains a list of all 47 counties, the 290 constituencies arranged by county, and wards, with the polling stations in each ward listed alphabetically. Those wishing to register can look for the station closest to them.
The Got To Vote website also contains some basic voter education information. It gives an overview of the registration process, explaining who is eligible to register and the necessary documentation.
GotToVote! was built as a Code for Kenya data journalism project to demonstrate how data-driven tools can help ordinary citizens engage more effectively in the political processes happening around them.
The information on voter registration centers is publicly available, but only as difficult-to-access PDF and MS Word or Excel documents hosted piecemeal by the Ministry of Information, the Electoral and Boundaries Commission and a variety of different Government websites.
Two Code for Kenya fellows, David Lemayian and Simeon Oriko, scraped the data and built a simple website for citizens to find their registration centre at the click of a button. The website also helped citizens understand the often complex procedures for registering.
Future versions of the site will introduce SMS tools, and will help users verify their registration, find their balloting stations, and track their local election results.
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