The Votewise website is a non-partisan service which advertises council by-elections, giving candidates a chance to set out their case and the public a chance to ask questions of all their candidates.
For each council by-election they contact all candidates asking them to supply copy for the site. Usage of the site varies a lot from by-election to by-election, but there are a growing number of Liberal Democrat by-election candidates who have had good exchanges with members of the public through the site and even found new supporters who have ended up as members or helpers.
It’s worth emphasising that it’s a legit and worthwhile site, as I get a steady trickle of queries from candidates or agents asking, ‘is this email for real?’, ‘do you know what this site is?’ and similar.
So in brief: yes, it’s for real, yes it’s legit, and yes it’s a good idea to take part.
Oh, and thank you to the Votewise team for running the service. It may not (yet) have the profile of the MySociety team, but – as with them – it’s an example of our democracy being better and more interactive thanks to the voluntary efforts of concerned individuals.
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VoteWise is a brilliant resource. I hope someone can give it the publicity (or indeed the money) to become the first place to go for local and national by-elections.
Maybe the ALDC (or whoever looks after by-election results these days) can have a look at some kind of tie-in?
Sounds a superb project.
I’ve met with the Vote Wise team and can also vouch they are on the level.