Though your state senate hearings are publicly available through networks like C-SPAN, what goes on is not usually archived in an accessible way. This makes it harder for American voters to know if their representatives are actually representing their interests.
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A new site lets you find videos of almost anything your local lawmakers have said
Digital Democracy is a new site that makes local government hearings searchable by speaker and subject. Think of it like CSPAN meets YouTube.
Over 100 protesters, many of them women, hold a rally in heavy rain outside of the offices of Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to demand that they hold up the nomination process of President Donald Trump's cabinet choices on January 24, 2017 in New York City.
But a new site called Digital Democracy aims to help voters hold their elected officials accountable by making local government hearings searchable by speaker and subject. You can think of the platform like CSPAN meets YouTube.
Gavin Newsom, California's Lieutenant Governor, and former California state senator
Digital Democracy only posts footage from hearings in New York and California right now (the nonprofit launched the platform in California in 2015, and it became available in New York in February). But
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The platform's launch is certainly timely. As evidenced by recent protests at town halls, calls for government accountability and transparency have risen since Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump has also promised to roll back federal regulation and funding, from reproductive healthcare allocations to EPA rules, which means more power could fall to state lawmakers over the next four years.
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Blakeslee, who left politics in 2010 to found he understands first-hand how legislation can get passed without public knowledge or input.
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