A WEB-based Voting Advice Application (VAA) ‘WhichCandidate.ie’ developed by UL researcher, Dr Rory Costello and his team is a not-for-profit site which helps voters to find the candidate that matches their preferences.
VAA’s are a relatively new technology in modern election campaigning and this is the first time a system of this type has been tested in Ireland.
The UL developed system will be trialled during the Limerick City and County Council elections this May with a view to rolling out for the 2016 general election.
Dr Rory Costello, the researcher leading the project explains: “Whichcandidate.ie provides a public service, it’s a real democratic social innovation which allows voters to evaluate each candidate’s position on key issues such as property tax rates, social housing, wind farms, Traveller accommodation and local democracy.”
The team behind WhichCandidate.ie includes two students Stephanie Staley and Emily Holland, who took part in the project as part of the UL Practicum initiative.
UL Practicum gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on project development experience working on live research programmes involving the local community.
WhichCandidate.ie is a project funded by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge in Society, University of Limerick and supported and the Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick.
