DNC uses open-source software to ease voter registration

The Democratic National Committee launched a new website Thursday that showcases the party's open-source software efforts and offers easy access to voter registration tools for campaigns and state parties.

Open.Democrats.org is an attempt by the Democrats to demonstrate their commitment to open-source software principles, which allow users to change or improve the source code for software applications.

The site includes a blog and an application programming interface (API) that allows anyone to create voter registration applications "without being concerned with the details of creating PDFs, following up with voters, or the rules associated with registering in various states."

"We hope that by releasing this API people with innovative online voter registration ideas will be able to build them without the effort that would have otherwise been required," the DNC said.

The project was developed by the DNC's Innovation Lab, a small team working to apply technology to political challenges within the party. They describe themselves as "experimenters and engineers; organizers and designers." The team is planning to release more APIs for organizers and local parties leading up to the fall midterm elections.

"The party has committed itself to engaging with developers and opening itself to innovation, which can feed a healthy exchange of ideas and work — while also bolstering party efforts this year to provide state-of-the-art resources to campaigns across the country," said DNC spokesman Greg Greene on the significance of the site.

There is also a section on the site where the public can download from a small selection of open-source software applications. When asked by e-mail why the party chose to only feature a few open-source applications, Greene said the site was an attempt to engage the public in deciding what data should be shared.

"We see it as a process, though, not an event — which is why we've established Open.Dems as a forum for constant engagement with the open-source community," Greene said. "There'll be ongoing consideration of what information to share, and when and how to share it."