Site Plan

Mission

This site’s mission is to convince ordinary people of the necessity and practicality of using modern technology to implement CondorcetThe general term for any election method that uses ranked ballots and has, as it's first princple, the Condorcet Criterion: any candidate which beats every other candidate individually must win the election. Any Condorcet method must come along with an ambiguity resolution procedure for cases in which there is no winner by this first criterion. voting in elections. The site will advocate positive change, beginning on a small scale, but ideally reaching all the way to national presidential elections. Those convinced that this is the correct action may use this site as a rallying point to convince others, and eventually policy makers and election officials of the most reasonable and safe way to proceed. Furthermore, as time progresses, the site shall serve as an observer of the progress of both alternate election methods and the transition to electronic voting, determine which dangers exist, and advocate measures to keep these risks at bay while taking advantage of an ever-involving potential for a more powerful democracy.

Audience

The audience for this site encompasses all citizens of democratic societies who would like to see a movement towards efficiency and rationality in elections. The emphasis will be on United States politics, thus the primary intended audience consists of American citizens. The site especially targets those with doubts, or perhaps overzealous confidence, in the security of electronic methods, attempting to convince both of an efficient compromise.

Revenue

In the early stages of existence, the site will not receive and revenue, and will exist purely for information purposes. Viewers will, however, be encouraged to contact me if they are willing to take part in the project, and thus the effort of maintaining the site itself can eventually become split among interested people. Like many other advocacy groups, if the site grows large enough that maintenance costs become significant, the audience itself will be solicited for the upkeep costs. Much like the websites for political campaigns, a “donate” button could be created for viewers to provide financial support if they decide they support the cause. Alternatively, various bumper stickers, t-shirts, and other paraphernalia could be produced and sold on the website, for donation. As more people are rallied to the cause, more revenue sources will emerge.

Management Team

The site, in its current form, will remain a small set of informational pages, and thus will not require substantial management. As it grows to accommodate either additional materials or sections for donation, volunteers, selected from those interested viewers who have contacted me, will share in the burden of researching the relevant topics, keeping the site up to date, and managing financial details.

Potential Expansions

If the site were to grow substantially in popularity and a corresponding movement begins to emerge, it could serve as a launch-pad for a greater project: an advocacy group for the reforms discussed. This would not need to be explicitly connected with the website, which could continue to simply report on the actions of such a group and provide support and fundraising. Alternatively, the two organizations could be combined into a more elaborate organization, including letter-writing, informational ad placement, and other efforts to convince voters and policy makers to implement election reform. Such an endeavor would necessitate an entirely new business model and substantially more fundraising, so while it cannot be ruled out, a new business plan would be drawn up at the time that such an organization becomes plausible. For now it is sufficient to find only how this basic informational website can be established and maintained for at least five to ten years.