Vote-E
Everyone should vote. Not because of who they’ll vote for. Because civic participation is how democracy works. That’s the premise. Everything else is implementation detail.
The Origin
Two years ago, a million years in AI time, NextGen America needed a voter engagement tool for Discord and Twitch. The original vision was a decision tree: structured paths through registration questions, deadline lookups, polling locations. Functional. Limited.
The pitch: AI agents instead. This was before the current wave of agent frameworks, before it was obvious that conversational AI could handle structured workflows. NextGen took the bet.
They were right to.
What It Does
Vote-E helps young voters navigate the mechanics of participation:
- Registration assistance: State-specific requirements, deadlines, online vs. paper options
- Polling information: Locations, hours, what to bring, what to expect
- Deadline tracking: Registration cutoffs, early voting windows, mail-in ballot timelines
- Platform-native: Lives where young voters already are, Discord servers and Twitch streams
The AI handles the conversation. The structured data comes from authoritative sources. The user gets answers without navigating government websites designed by committee.
Version Three
Vote-E is now on its third major version, rebuilt using Enforcement-Accelerated Development. The methodology matters because voter engagement tools need to be reliable during election seasons when we can’t afford architectural drift or silent failures.
The tests enforce the patterns. The patterns ensure consistency. The consistency means the bot works when it matters most.
The Partnership
NextGen America deserves credit twice over: for building a tool that helps young people vote, and for trusting a cutting-edge approach when safer options existed. They chose AI agents before it was the obvious choice, and they’ve supported the tool through three major iterations.