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Active elections
Civic simulation for approval voting and policy clarity
Ascent helps communities test richer ways to vote before changing the real world.
The project models elections, expressive ratings, and issue positions in one place so researchers, organizers, and donors can study how voter choice, candidate coalitions, and policy responsibility actually interact.
4733
Offices modeled
10
Topics tracked
40
Issues connected
Three Ways that
Expressive Voting turns elections into a collaboration.
Assent
The process is focused on agreement, not compromise. You can be specific about where you stand.
Ascent
Candidates who work hard can climb to the top, even without a head start.
The Scent
Politicians can finally see, almost in exact detail, which of their ideas are truly popular. And with that reassurance, they are able to be precise when saying what they'd change.
Designed for cross-partisan scrutiny
The framing stays civic and practical, not partisan.
Voter agency
People can express layered preferences instead of being forced into a single strategic choice.
Institutional fit
The system links policy claims back to real offices and jurisdictions, which helps keep promises legible.
Transparent experimentation
Mock elections and simulation data let communities explore reforms without pretending theory is enough.
Local usefulness
The data model is structured around places, offices, and residents, which keeps the project grounded in administration.
Current workspace
Active election spaces ready for exploration.
No active races are loaded yet.
The supporting data model is already in place, so the next step is to seed or model a live example and use the mountain interface to walk people through it.