Democracy Works

In 2010, Sean Flaxman missed several elections as a graduate student living away from home due to lack of information. Inspired by this experience, in 2010, he joined forces with his classmate Kathryn Peters to build TurboVote: an innovative reminder system designed to increase voter access and improve election turnout. Two years later, Democracy Works was officially founded as a startup civic engagement technology organization. In the time since, Democracy Works has grown from a two-person operation to a team of nearly 80 employees, and has emerged as a leading nonpartisan institution sculpting the future of the American voting experience.

In partnership with universities, nonprofit organizations, and brands, Democracy Works provides easy-to-use tools for voters, vital support for election officials, and uplifts comprehensive data for elections. Democracy Works' impact is significant. To name a few accolades, TurboVote currently serves more than 9 million subscribers, and Ballot Scout, a tool used by voters and election officials to locate ballots in the USPS system, tracked more than 2.7 million ballots in 2018 alone. The organization's work is guided by a singular vision: strengthening civic engagement in American democracy is a nonpartisan issue that we all benefit from.