How a group of young developers want to help us vote

A group of young developers from the Google Developer Student Club at Stevens Institute of Technology created a website called Project Crystal to make local government data more accessible and understandable for voters in their community. Initiated by Tim Leonard and his team, the platform aims to transform complex budget and transportation information into easy-to-understand graphics, thereby helping voters make more informed decisions in local elections. Inspired by a community meetup talk on government budgets by Ralph Yozzo from Google Developer Groups NYC, the students recognized the potential of programming to address the inaccessibility and disorganization of public data. They utilized Google App Engine, Node.js, and Google Charts to develop a prototype that features budget charts, contact information for public officials, and maps for locating services. The project not only aims to empower voters with actionable information but also serves as a model for other student developers to leverage technology for community engagement and improvement.