Voting advice app from Politics department wins UL Citizens' Assembly award

A voter engagement project led by Dr Rory Costello, Department of Politics and Public Administration was chosen by members of the public as one of the three winners at this year's UL Citizens' Assembly, each receiving an award of €10,000. The project will develop the already well-established voting advice application WhichCandidate.ie for the upcoming European Parliament and Limerick mayoral elections, plus the next general election.

The app allows people to compare their views on policy issues with those of the candidates running for election. In addition, the project will provide workshops on elections with community groups around Limerick and beyond. The goals of the project are to enhance public knowledge about policy issues and politics, increase turnout in elections, and foster greater connections between citizens and representatives.

The project team includes Professor Maura Adshead, Head of Community Engagement at UL, and Jackie Condon, a graduate of the Department’s successful CWELL community development programme (www.cwell.ie).