Patent Publication Number: US-2015081385-A1

Title: System and Method for Determining Political Representation

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Rapidly changing views on certain political issues can leave elected officials and candidates for political office out of touch with their constituents. Additionally, it may not be simple for a voter to determine the stances of political figures on all the issues that are important to the voter. It is therefore possible that a voter may choose a candidate which does not accurately represent the voter on important issues while agreeing with the voter on less important issues. Therefore, a simple way to determine political representation is desired. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented method for determining representation by political figures may be described. The method can include compiling a list of political issues, receiving preferences of a plurality of voters for at least one issue in the list of political issues, determining a stance of a political figure for the at least one issue, and determining if the stance of the political figure matches a preference of the plurality of voters for the at least one issue. 
     According to another exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented method for matching a voter and a political figure may be described. The method can include receiving a plurality of political issues from a voter, receiving preferences of the voter for at least one political issue of the plurality of political issues, receiving importance rankings for at least one political issue of the plurality of political issues, determining stances of a plurality of political figures for at least one political issue of the plurality of political issues, determining matches between the preferences of the voter and the stance of each political figure of the plurality of political figures, and providing a ranking to the voter for each political figure based on the matches. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. The following detailed description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which: 
         FIG. 1   a  is a diagram of an exemplary computer system. 
         FIG. 1   b  is a diagram of an exemplary system for determining political representation. 
         FIG. 2  shows an exemplary method for determining voter preferences. 
         FIG. 3  shows an exemplary method for determining a stance of a political figure. 
         FIG. 4  shows an exemplary method for determining representation by a political figure of their constituency. 
         FIG. 5  shows an exemplary method of matching a voter to a political figure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the description discussion of several terms used herein follows. 
     As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiment are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms “embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. 
       FIG. 1   a  illustrates a computer system  111  upon which an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented. The computer system  111  includes a bus  112  or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a processor  113  coupled with the bus  112  for processing the information. The computer system  111  also includes a main memory  114 , such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), and synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), coupled to the bus  112  for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor  113 . In addition, the main memory  114  may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions by the processor  113 . The computer system  111  further includes a read only memory (ROM)  115  or other static storage device (e.g., programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)) coupled to the bus  112  for storing static information and instructions for the processor  113 . 
     The computer system  111  also includes a disk controller  116  coupled to the bus  112  to control one or more storage devices for storing information and instructions, such as a magnetic hard disk  117 , and a removable media drive  118  (e.g., floppy disk drive, read-only compact disc drive, read/write compact disc drive, compact disc jukebox, tape drive, removable magneto-optical drive, flash drive, and the like). The storage devices may be added to the computer system  111  using an appropriate device interface (e.g., small computer system interface (SCSI), integrated device electronics (IDE), enhanced-IDE (E-IDE), direct memory access (DMA), or ultra-DMA). 
     Further, exemplary embodiments include or incorporate at least one database which may store software, descriptive data, system data, digital images and any other data item required by the other components necessary to effectuate any embodiment of the present system known to one having ordinary skill in the art. The database may be provided, for example, as a database management system (DBMS), a relational database management system (e.g., DB2, ACCESS, etc.), an object-oriented database management system (ODBMS), a file system or another conventional database package as a few non-limiting examples. The database can be accessed via a Structure Query Language (SQL) or other tools known to one having skill in the art. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the computer system  111  may also include special purpose logic devices (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) or configurable logic devices (e.g., simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)). 
     The computer system  111  may also include a display controller  119  coupled to the bus  112  to control a display  120 , such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD) or any other type of display, for displaying information to a computer client  204 . The computer system includes input devices, such as a keyboard  121  and a pointing device  122 , for interacting with a computer client and providing information to the processor  113 . Additionally, a touch screen could be employed in conjunction with display  120 . The pointing device  122 , for example, may be a mouse, a trackball, or a pointing stick for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor  113  and for controlling cursor movement on the display  120 . In addition, a printer may provide printed listings of data stored and/or generated by the computer system  111 . 
     The computer system  111  performs a portion or all of the processing steps of the invention in response to the processor  113  executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in a memory, such as the main memory  114 . Such instructions may be read into the main memory  114  from another computer readable medium, such as a hard disk  117  or a removable media drive  118 . One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in main memory  114 . In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. Thus, embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. 
     As stated above, the computer system  111  includes at least one computer readable medium or memory for holding instructions programmed according to the teachings of the invention and for containing data structures, tables, records, or other data described herein. Examples of computer readable media are compact discs, hard disks, flash memory, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, or any other magnetic medium, compact discs (e.g., CD-ROM), or any other optical medium, a carrier wave (described below), or any other medium from which a computer can read. 
     Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media, the present invention includes software for controlling the computer system  111 , for driving a device or devices for implementing the invention, and for enabling the computer system  111  to interact with a human client. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, development tools, and applications software. Such computer readable media further includes the computer program product of the present invention for performing all or a portion (if processing is distributed) of the processing performed in implementing the invention. 
     The computer code devices of the present invention may be any interpretable or executable code mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpretable programs, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Java classes, and complete executable programs. Moreover, parts of the processing of the present invention may be distributed for better performance, reliability, and/or cost. 
     The term “computer readable medium” as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor  113  for execution. A computer readable medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks, such as the hard disk  117  or the removable media drive  118 . Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as the main memory  114 . Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that make up the bus  112 . Transmission media also may also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communications. 
     Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying out one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor  113  for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions for implementing all or a portion of the present invention remotely into a dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to the computer system  111  may receive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupled to the bus  112  can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and place the data on the bus  112 . The bus  112  carries the data to the main memory  114 , from which the processor  113  retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by the main memory  114  may optionally be stored on storage device  117  or  118  either before or after execution by processor  113 . 
     The computer system  111  also includes a communication interface  123  coupled to the bus  112 . The communication interface  123  provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link  124  that is connected to, for example, a local area network (LAN)  125 , or to another communications network  126  such as the Internet. For example, the communication interface  123  may be a network interface card to attach to any packet switched LAN. As another example, the communication interface  123  may be a wireless link. In any such implementation, the communication interface  123  sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. 
     The network link  124  typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, the network link  124  may provide a connection to another computer or remotely located presentation device through a local network  125  (e.g., an 802.11-compliant wireless network) or through equipment operated by a service provider, which provides communication services through a communications network  126 . In preferred embodiments, the local network  124  and the communications network  126  preferably use electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through the various networks and the signals on the network link  124  and through the communication interface  123 , which carry the digital data to and from the computer system  111 , are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information. The computer system  111  can transmit and receive data, including program code, through the network(s)  125  and  126 , the network link  124  and the communication interface  123 . Moreover, the network link  124  may provide a connection through a LAN  125  to a mobile device  127  such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) laptop computer, or cellular telephone. The LAN communications network  125  and the communications network  126  both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through the various networks and the signals on the network link  124  and through the communication interface  123 , which carry the digital data to and from the system  111 , are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information. The processor system  111  can transmit notifications and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), the network link  124  and the communication interface  123 . 
     Other aspects of the invention may include data transmission and Internet-related activities. See Preston Gralla, How the Internet Works, Ziff-Davis Press (1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference into this patent application. Still other aspects of the invention may utilize wireless data transmission, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,456,645, 5,818,328 and/or 6,208,445, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference into this patent application. 
     Turning to  FIG. 1   b , and according to at least one exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented system  150  for determining political representation is disclosed. System  150  may be accessible by a plurality of voter users  160  and a plurality of political figure users  170 . System  100  may further include at least one database  180 , wherein the database may be used by system  100  to store any desired information, for example, but not limited to, political issue information, voting district information, voter personal information, voter location information, voter preferences on political issues, political figure information, political figure stances on political issues, voter locations, and any other desired information. 
     Each voter user  160  may maintain a user account with system  150 . Additionally, each user  160  may have their identity, as well as any other information, such as address or jurisdiction information, saved and verified as a part of their user account with system  150 . For example, each user  160  may provide a credit card or some other form of verification information that may be used to verify their identity, their home location, and, if desired, a voting jurisdiction. This may be desirable to prevent possible fraud, the creation of multiple user accounts for the same individual or any influence on issues outside of a relevant jurisdiction. Further, home address information can be compared to districting maps stored in system  150  so as to properly mate each user  160  with the appropriate voting district. Furthermore, a plurality of political figure profiles may be present on database  180 . A political figure may maintain a user account  170  with system  150 . However, a profile may be maintained for the political figure whether or not the political figure has a user account. Voters and political figures may access system  150  via the internet, for example by logging in to a website or accessing the system via an app for a portable communications device. 
       FIG. 2  shows an exemplary method for determining voter preferences. At step  202 , a voter account may be created. At step  204 , personal information of the voter may be received. The personal information may include the voter&#39;s name, address, contact information, voter registration information, voting districts, and any other relevant information. At step  206 , the voter may be presented with one or more political issues. The political issues can include national, state, and local political issues. The voter may search for a particular political issue, or may be presented with a list of political issues, for example the issues that are prevalent in the voter&#39;s district. The system may compile a list of the political issues, for example by determining which issues are being discussed on various mass and social media, as well as by determining which issues are popular with other voter users in the voter&#39;s area, and/or the issues that other voter users in the voter&#39;s area have deemed to be important. 
     At step  208 , the voter&#39;s preference regarding one or more political issue may be received. The voter may enter a response in any desired manner, for example by filling in a text field, or by choosing one of several preselected responses. The preselected responses may be any responses that are appropriate to the political issue, and may range from simple “yes”/“no”/“no opinion” responses to more nuanced or qualified responses. 
     At step  210 , rankings of the political issues may be received from the voter. For example, the voter may rank all given political issues in order of importance to the voter. Alternatively, the voter may provide an importance level for each political issue, for example “most important”, “moderately important”, and “least important”. 
       FIG. 3  shows an exemplary method for determining a stance of a political figure. At step  302 , a political figure profile may be created. The profile may be created upon request of a political figure, or may be generated by the system based on known political figures in a particular area. 
     At step  304 , the political figure&#39;s stances on one or more political issues may be determined. The political issues can include national, state, and local political issues. The system may compile a list of the political issues, for example by determining which issues are being discussed on various mass and social media, as well as by determining which issues are popular with voter users in the political figure&#39;s area, and/or the issues that voter users in the political figure&#39;s area have deemed to be important. 
     The political figure&#39;s stances on one or more political issues may be determined in several manners. If the political figure wishes to participate in the system, the political figure may be presented with a political issue and prompted to enter a response. The political figure may enter a response in any desired manner, for example by filling in a text field, or by choosing one of several preselected responses. The preselected responses may be any responses that are appropriate to the political issue, and may range from simple “yes”/“no”/“no opinion” responses to more nuanced or qualified responses. 
     If the political figure does not wish to participate in the system, then the system may determine the political figure&#39;s stances based on known political activities of the political figure. Such political activities can include, for example, past voting history, political speeches given by the political figure, opinions expressed by the political figure in various media, and so forth. 
     At step  306 , a page may be generated displaying the political figure&#39;s stances on the various issues. The page may be viewed by voter users of system  150  as well as by political figure users of system  150 . 
       FIG. 4  shows an exemplary method for determining representation by a political figure of their constituency. At step  402 , a list of political issues may be compiled. As above, the political issues can include national, state, and local political issues that may be important to the voters of a particular area or that are being discussed on various media. 
     At step  404 , the aggregate political preferences of the political figure&#39;s constituency may be determined. These aggregate political preferences may be determined from the responses received by system  150  according to steps  206 - 210  of method  200 . 
     At step  406 , the aggregate political preferences of the constituency may be compared to the stance of the political figure on at least one issue. At step  408 , the system may generate a page comparing the stance of the political figure to the aggregate political preferences of the constituency. The page may be viewed by voter users of system  150  as well as by political figure users of system  150 . 
       FIG. 5  shows an exemplary method of matching a voter to a political figure. At step  502 , the voter&#39;s preferences regarding one or more political issue, as well as the voter&#39;s importance ranking of the issues may be received. At step  504 , the preferences of the voter on each issue may be compared to the stances, on that issue, of political figures that are or intend to be representing the voter. At step  506 , these political figures may be ranked based on a match between the voter preferences and the stances of the various political figures. The ranking of each political figure may be determined by the number of issues on which the voter and a political figure agree. The ranking may further be influenced by weighting various issues differently based on the importance that the voter assigns to the issues. Thus, for example, a political figure who matches the voter on a few “most important” issues may be ranked higher than a political figure who matches the voter on a greater number of “least important” issues. 
     Once the ranking is determined, the system may generate a page, at step  508 , showing a ranked list of political figures as well as the political issues for which the voter&#39;s preferences have been received. An indication of whether each political figure matches or does not match the voter on a political issue may also be provided. The page may be viewed by a particular voter user of system  150 . 
     Thus, the embodiments disclosed herein can aid voters in determining whether they are being properly represented by their elected candidates, as well as which candidate would best represent their views. The embodiments disclosed herein can also aid candidates and incumbents in determining whether their views reflect the views of their constituents. 
     The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
     Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.