The group's name, Vote (Mostly) Online, captures its goal: get young people voting by helping them do as much of the voting process online as state law allows. That's a challenge in Wisconsin, a state where the 1,852 municipalities — each with their own clerk — make it difficult to connect voters statewide with the correct ballots.
Housed in a start-up office just off the Capitol Square, the website for facilitating absentee voting in Wisconsin is one of several projects started by a trio of serial technology entrepreneurs.
The group launched its website publicly Wednesday.
The service will be free and even cover the cost of postage for its users, but Vote (Mostly) Online will attempt to make a profit by asking for donations and considering other means of generating income, such as selling aggregate data on its users.
"We really feel that the current system does not fit very well with digital natives and the millennial generation," said Michael Fenchel, one of the group's co-founders.
"Ultimately we are in this to drive change and create innovation ... so we would love it if the Wisconsin government made more of this their own."
The effort won't eliminate the need for old-fashioned paper and the U.S. Postal Service.
The website will do most of the work for the voter, but he or she will still have to sign an absentee ballot request addressed to their clerk and, after that, fill out and return the actual ballot.
In one sense, there's nothing new about the effort. For years, political parties and other groups have been using volunteers, paid staff and websites to help their voters cast ballots absentee and in person.
Fenchel said his group's effort is different because of the ease of use on their mobile-friendly site and their method of preprinting forms and paid envelopes for their users.
Three big hurdles
This fall's campaign will give voters a chance to test the site and decide if it's for them.The effort is sure to generate some wariness.
First, some will be turned off because Fenchel, 27, and two of the website's other three young co-founders signed the petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker in November 2011.
Second, some may be alarmed about being asked to give digital copies of the necessary registration documents, such as a bank statement or driver's license.
Last, the website requires voters to name the candidates they're leaning toward supporting in the eventual paper ballot they would receive from their municipal clerk. The company will never actually handle that official ballot, only the request form for it.
Fenchel said the co-founders aren't motivated by politics and won't share any information about the specific users. But he said the site might eventually sell aggregate information about its customers, including what candidates they're voting for as a group.
"We want to make sure people will follow through with their ballots, and we believe that having them indicate who they plan to vote for will give them more incentive to do so," he said.
State has own website
A spokesman for the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board said the state elections agency has given Vote (Mostly) Online suggestions on improving its site but still expressed caution about the new venture."The reality is that Wisconsin's laws and processes for voter registration and absentee voting are complex and are not easily translated into computer code for websites," Reid Magney said.
Magney noted that the state has its own website that voters can use to register to vote by mail.
Neil Albrecht, executive director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission, said he hadn't heard of the online start-up but is glad its founders are at least trying to work with the accountability board.
Generally voters benefit from having more groups working to boost their participation, he said.
"Promoting absentee voting will not be unique to this election. Overall, it goes well," Albrecht said.
Visitors to votemostlyonline.com first have to note whether they have registered to vote or not. If they haven't, the website will ask them for the necessary personal information and supporting digital documents, such as a bank statement or utility bill, that will be used to prove residency.
The website will then ask users for the information needed to request an absentee ballot from their clerk.
Vote (Mostly) Online will then complete and print out the official request forms and send them to voters, who will verify them, sign them and mail them to their clerk using an enclosed envelope with the correct address and postage. The clerk will then in turn send the voters their absentee ballots for them to fill out and return.
Voters have the option of donating to support Vote (Mostly) Online's work but aren't required to do so.
The website's co-founders have all started other ventures. Fenchel and fellow co-founder Niko Skievaski also helped create 100 State, a Madison incubator for tech companies where Vote (Mostly) Online shares office space with other start-ups.
Two other co-founders, Kyle Pfister and Chris Franson, have founded a public health technology company, Ninjas for Health.
That last venture received a $4,750 grant from Dane County health agencies to promote sign-ups for the Affordable Care Act, often known as Obamacare.
©2014 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
