Arrange rides to the polls for seniors with ALEXA-like system

Democracy Labs

3 years ago

Arrange rides to the polls for seniors with ALEXA-like system

Fight Republican voter suppression that prevents seniors from voting to protect their Social Security.

Imagine you rely on Social Security and Medicare and worried about Republican plans to kill them. You want to vote to stop the Republican scheme, but how can you vote when:

Don’t have a car and no access to public transport
Live in a rural area with spotty postal service
Don’t have a computer nor internet access
Live in an area without cell coverage
Cannot use a cell phone due to bad eyesight and arthritis

To make things harder for you, Republicans in your state have banned voting by mail and removed drop boxes. Without internet access, you cannot request a ballot or find out about polling locations online. How will you get a ballot? Transport is a challenge andyou only have a landline phone. How can you vote?

Community organizers have their own challenges in trying to arrange rides to the polls. You have volunteers willing to offer drives, but how do you match them with seniors needing rides? You have little time, money and staff. How do you match voters and volunteer drivers with only landline phones?

Voicebots fight Republican voter suppression

The solution uses voice recognition technology like ALEXA that can ask you questions verbally and understand what you’re saying. The solution runs in the cloud, so you don’t need to have an ALEXA device. You simply call it from your landline phone.

Center For Common Ground uses such an ALEXA-like system to arrange rides to the polls through volunteers. Voters call to request and a voicebot asks them where they live and when they’d like a ride. The ALEXA-like voicebot understands what they’re saying, transcribes it and saves their answers in a data base. Volunteers also call the same number and say when and where they can offer rides. Ride coordinators use these details to arrange rides to the polls. The system can handle any number of calls simultaneously and works automatically. It’s fast, affordable and easy to use. Learn more about how to use the system to arrange rides to the polls.

Try it for yourself

Call (843) 890-2992
The ALEXA like voicebot will ask you if you need a ride or want to volunteer as a driver
You’ll be asked for your name and address (Enter anything – this is only a demo)
Where and when you’d like the ride to vote
The voicebot transcribes your answers and saves them in a database
In real life, a ride coordinator would follow up with you to arrange a ride to the polls
REMEMBER: THIS IS ONLY A DEMO

Republicans don’t want you to vote to protect Social Security and Medicare

Michigan’s voter transportation ban prohibits anyone from hiring transportation for bringing voters to the polls.
Another ban makes it a crime for people who help a neighbor or community member return an absentee ballot application.
Republicans file a lawsuit in Pennsylvania challenging the use of drop boxes.
Republicans attack voting by mail even though it is popular with the elderly, rural and disabled voters.

Republican voter suppression targets the vulnerable

There are over 7.6 million Americans with visual disabilities. – National Federation of the Blind
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has over 38 million members.
Pew Research reports that there are 47 million people without internet access.
The Center For Disease Control (CDC) reports there are over 54 million Americans with arthritis.
The US Dept. of Education reports that 32 million American adults cannot read.

Republicans threaten Social Security and Medicare

“Republicans tell us over and over again that they will hand our earned Social Security and Medicare benefits over to Wall Street if they get power. This agenda is yet another reminder of who Republicans work for: Their Wall Street and Big Pharma donors,” Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works. “Democrats are fighting to expand Social Security, while Republicans want to cut, privatize, and destroy it behind closed doors.” – Common Dreams

TakeAway: Help arrange rides to the polls so seniors can vote to protect Social Security.

Deepak
DemLabs

Image Credit: dimaberkut

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