Why Political Software is Ripe for Disruption

From co-founding a startup and working in consulting, I can get up to speed on topics quickly. Last year I ran for Mayor of New Haven, a small city, and it was my first experience running for office.?

I didn't win the election, but I learned a lot about campaigning. And as a technologist, I was fascinated with how technology can play a role in a political campaign.?

I was surprised. Having read about the increasing role of digital in politics, from Obama's use of social media to Donald Trump's use of voter data modeling, I expected political software products to be impressive. They were not.?

In a range of 1-10, political software is a 2.5. It's not as bad as government software, but it's far from the usability and sophistication of modern consumer software companies like Facebook or AirBnB.?

Why is this? Here are three things I've observed.

1.? Political software is siloed along party lines.?

Many top companies cater to one of the major parties and refuse to even work with members of the other party or independents. This creates a silo effect, reducing competition and innovation.?

We see this with NGP VAN, the market leader and the core of the National Democratic Party's technology infrastructure. The company has changed hands several times and is now owned by a private equity firm in Europe (!). Instead of innovating, it has tried to buy off smaller companies and has crushed morale with large layoffs in recent years.?

2. Politicians and operators hesitant to embrace digital.

Many political candidates and political operatives are just not technology savvy. They hold on to old methods of direct voter contact and resist newer forms of voter engagement, such as social media.?

Social media has become an afterthought to many local campaigns and software companies ignore it. But it provides a way of reaching massive amounts of voters and identifying supporters. So far, this use of social media has been limited to high-profile campaigns with budgets for expensive consultants.?

3. Entrenched interests DISCOURAGE competition

Far too many elected positions go uncontested. Political consultants make money by having repeat customers, i.e., incumbents. Because races are often uncontested, there is no need for innovation.?

Think of all the elected offices available - 15,000 - 25,000 positions a year, from Congressional seats down to town party committee positions. According to Ballotpedia, 73% of these elections are uncontested! Why is that?

For one reason, elections are hard, and the current political campaign software products don't make them any easier. They require operatives, a campaign manager, and other staff that many candidates cannot afford.?

But it is also because many entrenched interests like it that way, and sometimes make it harder for candidates to challenge incumbents.

The opportunity

Competition is good for democracy. Political parties, consultants, and technology companies should make it easier for people to run for office, whether in an open seat or to challenge an incumbent.?

My hope is that both major parties address the lack of resources and discouragement for political challengers and that more political offices are challenged regularly. Then we might see more candidates that we are actually inspired to vote for.?

What do you think? Let me know in the comments. And if you enjoyed this article, "like" so more people can see it!

Footnotes

1. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/case-studies/obama-power-social-media-technology
2. https://www.propublica.org/article/the-myths-of-the-genius-behind-trumps-reelection-campaign
3. https://theintercept.com/2022/05/10/democrats-campaign-tech-ngp-van-apax/
4. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/05/democrats-ngp-van-collapse-00120184
5. https://ballotpedia.org/Analysis_of_uncontested_elections,_2024