STEAL THIS IDEA
THE FUTURE OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY

CIVIC

Your civic duty, elevated.

Civic is a mobile app that gives voters instant, unbiased access to every candidate and ballot measure in their local elections. By combining candidate profiles, community reviews, and plain-language bill summaries in one place, Civic turns uninformed party-line voting into educated civic participation.

Learn How It Works
The Problem

Local Elections Are Broken

Most Americans skip local elections entirely, and those who do vote often default to straight party-line choices because finding information on local candidates and ballot measures is scattered across dozens of websites. The result is that a tiny, highly partisan minority effectively chooses sheriffs, judges, city council members, and school board officials for everyone.

Empty voting booth representing low local election turnout
73%
of eligible voters skip local elections
21%
turnout in typical municipal races
60+
websites to research one local ballot
5 min
average time spent deciding on local races
The Solution

One App. Every Answer.

Civic aggregates every candidate and ballot measure for a voter's specific area into a single, clean mobile app. Users enter their zip code and instantly see candidate profiles with core platform positions, moderated community reviews, and plain-language summaries of bills and propositions. It works in line at the polls or weeks before election day.

1
Enter Your Zip Code Civic instantly pulls every race, candidate, and measure on your specific ballot.
2
Review Candidates and Issues Read unbiased summaries, compare positions side by side, and see what your neighbors think.
3
Vote With Confidence Walk into the booth informed on every single line of your ballot, not just the top of the ticket.
Person using mobile app for civic information
Features

Everything You Need to Vote Smart

Four core tools designed to make informed voting effortless, whether you have five minutes or five weeks.

Location search on phone

Instant Ballot Lookup

Enter your zip code and see every race, candidate, and ballot measure for your specific area. No more guessing what you will actually be voting on.

Community discussion and reviews

Community Reviews

A moderated review system where neighbors share informed opinions on candidates. Think of it as a trusted local recommendation engine for your democracy.

Documents and summaries

Plain-Language Summaries

Complex ballot measures and propositions broken down into clear, readable language so you actually understand what you are approving or rejecting.

Calendar reminders and notifications

Election Reminders

Never miss a registration deadline, early voting window, or election day again. Get timely alerts with your polling location and required documents.

Market Opportunity

A Massive, Underserved Audience

250M+
eligible voters in the United States, with the vast majority lacking any reliable tool for local election research
$10M+
annual revenue potential at scale with hyper-local ad CPMs in the $15 to $25 range

Target Audience

Voters aged 18 to 45 who want to be informed but lack the time or motivation to research local elections on their own. First-time voters and residents of rapidly growing communities where local governance has outsized impact are a strong secondary audience.

Diverse crowd representing American voters
Business Plan

The Road to Scale

A clear, actionable plan for turning informed citizenship into a sustainable business.

Revenue Model

Hyper-local advertising from small businesses targeting voters by zip code, premium candidate profile pages with enhanced micro-sites and video, and sponsored civic content. Revenue stays separate from editorial content to maintain trust.

Go-to-Market Strategy

Launch in a single fast-growing metro area where local politics are contentious and information is hard to find. Run street-team campaigns at polling locations, partner with nonpartisan voter registration organizations, and target the "I should vote but I have no idea who these people are" audience on social media.

Competitive Advantage

While presidential election coverage is everywhere, local election information is fragmented across municipal websites, candidate Facebook pages, and obscure PDFs. Civic is the only platform combining candidate data, community sentiment, and ballot breakdowns at the local level in a mobile-first experience built for last-minute decision making.

Startup Cost Estimate

Building an MVP covering initial metro areas, with data sourcing infrastructure, moderation tools, and core mobile apps.

$50,000 - $300,000

Year One Milestones

  • Launch in 3 metro areas covering at least 500,000 eligible voters with full candidate and ballot data
  • Reach 50,000 downloads and 20,000 monthly active users during the first election cycle
  • Secure partnerships with 5 nonpartisan civic organizations and onboard 200 local business advertisers

Key Risks

  • Maintaining true nonpartisanship while accepting political advertising revenue creates a trust problem that could alienate users on both sides
  • Seasonal usage means heavy traffic only around elections, making it hard to sustain engagement and ad revenue year-round
  • Sourcing accurate, up-to-date local candidate and ballot data across thousands of jurisdictions requires significant ongoing editorial and data operations