In the British General Election in 2010, 45,597,461 people voted - that’s 65.1% of the population, which means just over one in three people didn’t vote. The likelihood is that this statistic is largely representative of national apathy, but perhaps if the voting public were spoon-fed the opportunity to vote, more people would be inclined.

Intuitive Voting, a conceptual new app by Philadelphia based design firm Intuitive Company, was the winner of a recent competition from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society to redesign the voter experience, i.e. get more people to vote. Using the Voter app, non-registered citizens can register with the option to capture their information off of a driver’s license or other ID. This serves as a quick data entry process for generating a traditional paper registration form, or for direct, online registration. The app also provides objective information on candidates and issues for the upcoming election and also allows voters to select their choices. In the short term, this becomes a quick reference to take to the polls via smartphone or printout. It’s a controversial issue but Intuitive Company’s hope is that in in the future the app can enable remote online voting.

Nicholas Rubin, a high school sophomore also believes the political system needs fixing. He created a free browser extension called Greenhouse to shine a light on the undue influence money has on US Congress.