COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – As Election Day approaches, Texas A&M students have a new tool to help voters evaluate how presidential candidates’ economic policies will affect their finances. It is being introduced. The app is designed with first-time voters and financially insecure people in mind, and shows how each candidate’s tax and spending proposals could affect their personal income. Provides a breakdown of
Jonathan Daniel, a first-time voter and A&M freshman majoring in computer science and one of the developers of the app, said he feels the weight of the decision before him.
“From my perspective, I just turned 18 and it’s my first time voting in an election, and I’m worried about making an ill-informed decision. ” Daniel said. There’s a lot of information out there, candidates are always saying something, and it changes. So being able to provide someone with a very clear, easily accessible source of information about a candidate opens the door for them to make better informed decisions about who to vote for. It will be. Because it affects us all. ”
Daniel and his colleague Alex Alvarez, a neuroscience researcher, created the app to make voters more aware of their financial interests. This tool uses nonpartisan data from sources such as the Tax Foundation to help voters make informed choices about policies that affect taxes, dependents, and wages.
Neuroscience researcher Alex Alvarez. (KBTX)
“Most people, at least many people, vote against their economic self-interest. And you may be voting against your economic self-interest, and you may not be voting intentionally. “I can’t do it,” Alvarez said. “Maybe if you knew how this would change your income, maybe you would vote differently, maybe it would have some impact on your life and make your life a little more comfortable. Maybe you can live in a better neighborhood, send your kids to college, or something like that. So we think that’s really important.”
Jonathan Daniel, a computer science major and freshman at A&M, voted for the first time. (KBTX)
Alvarez said the app, released earlier this month, provides an objective, data-based perspective on political choices.
“One of the reasons we started this project is because as a scientist, I feel that politics is not very scientific. It is not something objective that can be quantified. No. It’s more like a he-said, she-said thing. It’s very subjective,” Alvarez said. “So we wanted to add an element of real information, an objective, quantifiable difference, about how politicians make people’s lives better or worse.”
Experts say that while the tool has promise, there are challenges with such models. First, they rely on certain assumptions, which can be complex. And in today’s political climate, tools that appear to favor one side can quickly become open to criticism.
Daniel and Alvarez said they hope to involve more young people in the voting process and encourage people who feel disengaged to vote.
Click here to learn more about the web app.
For more information about polling places, to view a sample ballot, and to view KBTX’s comprehensive election guide, visit Your Vote Counts 2024: General Election Vote Guide.
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