November 5 is Election Day in the United States, marking the culmination of a historic presidential campaign. While all eyes have been on the presidential contest, 33% of Senate seats and all House seats are also up for grabs this year. As voters head to the polls, a new Harvard startup is making it easy to learn where candidates stand on key issues.
It’s more important than ever for voters to know where their congressional representatives really stand on the issues, says i-lab member Swanee Golden (MBA/MPP '25). But that's often tougher than it should be.
Here’s where VoteSee comes in. Founded by Golden, a joint degree student at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School, VoteSee aims to bridge the gap between voters — especially younger voters— and the data they need to make informed decisions. The platform, which launched this fall, allows users to easily track their representatives’ voting records on key issues like climate change, immigration, and health care.
For Golden, who serves as VoteSee's CEO, the idea for the venture stemmed from years of growing insight. After working at Google’s Civics and Elections team, where she collaborated with nonprofits and government agencies to share civic information, Golden saw a clear need for more accessible, non-partisan political data. “I’ve always been interested in how democracy impacts individuals on a day-to-day basis,” she says. But she knew that for most people, understanding what their representatives were really doing in Washington was tougher than it should be.
The stats driving VoteSee's mission: turning civic interest into informed action
- of Gen Z adults believe that voting is the most effective way to make change in America. (Pew Research Center)
- 58%
- of Americans can name their congressional representative. (Haven Insights)
- 37%
- of Gen Z non-voters cited lack of info about candidates as a barrier to voting. (Murmuration and Walton Family Foundation)
- 50%
Building a Founding Team
When Golden came to Harvard for her joint degree program, she knew it was time to turn her vision into a reality. In early 2023, as the election cycle was gaining momentum, she decided to build VoteSee. “I knew that making voting information easy to access—while keeping it unbiased—was key,” she explains.
Golden met Nick Holowsko (HBS '25), now VoteSee's co-founder and CTO, through their shared MBA section. Holowsko, a skilled data engineer, took Golden’s vision and turned it into a functioning platform. “We wanted to take publicly available data and apply analytical methods to quantify traditionally qualitative information, like political positions,” Holowsko says. Thanks to his work, VoteSee transforms complex voting records into a simple and actionable tool.
Christine Jarjour (MBA/MPP '25) joined VoteSee to manage data analytics, while Charlotte Wu (GSD '24) and AJ Davis (HSE '24) came on board to lead the design and user experience. From day one, Wu was focused on creating a clear and approachable platform. “We put a lot of thought into making complex political data simple and clear,” she says. The use of light blue and pink as the platform’s primary colors is intentional, meant to give VoteSee a fresh look that stands apart from traditional political websites. “We wanted to honor election culture but make something that feels new,” Wu explains.
"We put a lot of thought into making complex political data simple and clear." — Charlotte Wu, UI Lead
For Davis, the focus was on personalizing the user experience. “We knew that a lot of people vote based on just a few major issues,” he says. By allowing voters to filter by the issues they care about most — whether it’s climate change, reproductive rights, or the economy — VoteSee provides a tailored experience that saves users time and effort.
Reducing Information Overload
One of VoteSee’s biggest selling points is its ability to tackle the overwhelming amount of information surrounding Congress and the legislative process. The average voter lacks the time to sift through piles of data or visit multiple websites in search of simple answers. With VoteSee, that frustration vanishes. The platform pulls data directly from Congress.gov, letting users explore their representatives’ voting records in a digestible way that helps them see trends and draw their own conclusions without drowning in the details or spending hours on the internet.
Beyond displaying voting records, VoteSee includes interactive features to make the learning process fun. Inspired by well-loved platforms like BuzzFeed, the team has created quizzes that let voters explore how their views align with their representatives’ actions. “We wanted to make sure VoteSee was accessible to people of all political knowledge levels,” says Wu. Whether a voter is versed in the issues or just getting started, VoteSee helps its users get informed quickly and accurately.
Community is Key
At Harvard Innovation Labs, Golden and the VoteSee team found a community of like-minded thinkers and venture-building resources. The i-lab’s expert office hours helped the team connect with professionals who offered critical insights as VoteSee developed. “It’s rare to find people who are passionate about civic engagement and willing to donate their time to an effort like this,” says Golden. “We were able to sit down with experts who had deep knowledge in the fields we needed most.”
The i-lab also provided networking opportunities that proved key to the team’s formation. Golden met some of her co-founders at Pizza and Pitch, an i-lab event that connects student founders with those looking to add their skills to a team. “The i-lab’s infrastructure made it easier to connect with people who shared our vision,” she says.
It's rare to find people who are passionate about civic engagement and willing to donate their time to an effort like this...the i-lab's infrastructure made it easier to connect with people who shared our vision.
Beyond November 5
With Election Day around the corner, the VoteSee team is laser-focused on sharing their platform with as many voters as possible. “Our number one goal is to get this tool into the hands of people who want to be informed but may not have the time to dig into the data," says Golden.
Though the 2024 election marks a major milestone for VoteSee, Golden and her team are thinking long-term about how to expand VoteSee’s offerings after November 5. “We’d love to start analyzing candidate statements, social media posts, and campaign platforms,” Golden explains. The platform could even scale to cover state and local elections, as well as international elections. “There’s demand for this kind of tool globally, and we’re excited to see where it can go,” she adds.
As VoteSee grows, its mission remains clear: to become the go-to resource for voters looking to make informed choices grounded in truth. “At the end of the day, we want to empower voters with the information they need to make fact-based decisions," says Golden.
