Visible Vote Launches Live Mobile Video Town Halls, User Forums and Push Notification

CHICAGO, Feb. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Visible Vote LLC, creator of a free, non-partisan web app that connects voters to their elected officials, announced today the release of Visible Vote 2.2.  The application's newest version enables members of the U.S. Congress to instantly connect with constituents through live mobile video town halls that subscribers can join and watch at www.visiblevote.us, through Facebook, or on their Blackberry, iPhone and Android smartphones.

Today at 6:15 PM PST/9:15 PM EST, Rep. John Garamendi (D) will become the first elected official to tap Visible Vote's new technology by hosting a live mobile video town hall for his constituents from California's 10th District.  

"As a member of Congress, I owe it to residents in my district to use the latest technologies available to create an open dialogue," said Congressman Garamendi. "Visible Vote's innovative and free video town hall software – combined with our existing telephone town hall outreach – will enable thousands of people to reach me – even through their smartphones."

A free application for smartphones, Facebook and the Web, Visible Vote connects voters to lawmakers and empowers users with the information to elect officials that best represent their interests.  Through the app, users can participate in the political process by voting on past and pending legislation, accessing and comparing their votes to their legislators' records, and submitting their preferences and messages directly to their representatives' offices.  Forums offer users a place to debate and discuss politics, legislation and their representatives.  In turn, Congressional offices can use the application to communicate directly with constituents, share information and polls, collect voter feedback, and host live video town halls.  

The first mobile application scalable enough to serve any number of participants on all three devices, Visible Vote is breaking new ground by utilizing a unique combination of cloud computing, video and push technologies.  

"Attempts at live video for mobile devices have flopped in the past because people don't remember when to watch," said Visible Vote CEO Paul Everton.  "Push notification changes all of that.  Hosts are now able to send a message notifying subscribers about a town hall or alerting them about a future event that can be automatically added to their calendars."  

Visible Vote 2.2 is available to users operating on Blackberry 5.0, iPhone 3.1 and Android 2.2 or newer platforms.  To view Rep. John Garamendi's debut town hall, download the free application from your smartphone marketplace, click the "live events" icon on the apps menu and add the event to your calendar.  For more information, visit www.visiblevote.us.

About Visible Vote

Founded by Paul Everton and Jason Pritzker, Visible Vote is a first-of-its-kind software application to educate voters, personalize politics and connect congressional leaders and campaigns to their constituents.  Available free for Facebook, Blackberry, iPhone and Android smartphones, Visible Vote makes it fun and easy to participate in the country's political process.  Since its release, more than 200,000 Americans have downloaded the application to stay informed and in touch with their elected officials.  Visible Vote, LLC was founded in 2009 and is based in Chicago, IL.  

SOURCE Visible Vote