Alumni rely on UChicago mentors, resources in launching online voter guide

Alumni and BallotReady co-founders Aviva Rosman (left), and Alex Niemczewski at the Chicago Innovation Exchange. They developed the nonpartisan online voter guide with fellow alumnus Sebastian Ellefson. Three University of Chicago alumni-making use of University resources that support budding entrepreneurs, technology startups and robust political thought-have developed an easy-to-use, nonpartisan online voter guide that's making a big splash this election year. BallotReady provides detailed, unbiased information on every single candidate from the top of the ballot to the bottom, helping voters make well-reasoned choices for school boards, county assessors or even mosquito abatement districts. The service will be rolled out to 25 states in its first 18 months, and within a few years, "we want to cover every race, every candidate, every election" nationwide, said Alex Niemczewski, AB'09, BallotReady's CEO and co-founder. It's a tall order, but Niemczewski and another co-founder, COO Aviva Rosman, AB'10, MPP'16, say their aggressive rollout schedule already is meeting with great success. The third co-founder is Sebastian Ellefson, AB'03, director of content.