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Friday, January 9, 2015

HelpMeVote: The University of Thessaloniki App Assisting Undecided Greek Voters

Latest polls have found that more than 15% have yet to decide which political party they will vote for in the fast approaching critical elections of January 25. For those who can’t seem to find any party covering their criteria 100%, a new electronic application developed by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is available to aid voters in making a decision before the ballot box opens. “HelpMeVote” is an online application that allows voters to compare their views on politics and current affairs with the positions of the candidates and their parties. In essence, it is an electronic voting adviser (Voting Advice Application or VAA). Consultant Voting is presently used in many countries for presidential, parliamentary, regional or municipal elections. HelpMeVote initiative is a scholarly work, not linked to any political party or movement and all information collected is under the responsibility of the research team. Furthermore, political parties had no effect on the project design How does it work? Before the election, the positions of the candidates or parties are encoded by a group of academic researchers. Then voters are asked to complete the same questionnaire and to express their views. The electronic system compares the responses of the parties/candidates to those provided by the voters (users of the online application). The final result shows the ranking of parties or candidates based on their degree of agreement with each voter. The degree of agreement between the party and citizen are finally calculated using an appropriate statistical factor. HelpMeVote is available online at www.helpmevote.gr.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com