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" For founder Keya Dannenbaum, the idea for ElectNext began with the notion that &amp;quot;all politics are local.&amp;quot; An MBA student in Philadelphia at the time, Dannenbaum had just come off three years of hardcore campaigning when she missed the voter registration deadline and couldn&amp;#039;t vote. This &amp;quot;look in the mirror&amp;quot; moment inspired her to create a tool that would help others stay informed and get involved with politics. Since ElectNext launched last November, thousands of people have been able to find their political matches through the organization&amp;#039;s eHarmony-like system. Read the story behind ElectNext... and then try it out for yourself! Seventeen: How does ElectNext work?  Keya Dannenbaum: We&amp;#039;ve used a variety of sources to gather millions of data points on 4,500 candidates and elected officials at the three U.S. federal levels [presidential, senate, and house]. We&amp;#039;ve built ElectNext on top of this database. As people use this tool, what we&amp;#039;ve been able to build is a political preferences landscape of American individuals, voters, and citizens. You come and let us know what&amp;#039;s important to you and take positions on your important issues so we can help you access the right people at the right times. 17: Although you are currently focused on the 2012 election, how do you hope ElectNext evolves in the future? KD: Let&amp;#039;s say you care that a bike lane ends up in your neighborhood because you want to bike between home and school. We want ElectNext to be a platform that allows you to find an issue that&amp;#039;s important to you, identify who the relevant decision makers are, follow the process by which a decision was being made, make your voice heard, and see an outcome. Even if the bike lane doesn&amp;#039;t get put in, at least you know this is a place where you were able to learn, express an opinion and advocate for something to be done on the issue you cared about. 17: How is the younger generation of voters making a difference? KD: One of the most standard ways people figure out who they are politically is based on the idea that party affiliations are inherited. Whatever party your parents are is the best predictor of how you&amp;#039;re going to turn out in terms of what you will believe, where you&amp;#039;ll stand, and who you&amp;#039;ll vote for. The 2008 election was the first time I saw a campaign [Obama&amp;#039;s] do an incredible job of inspiring young people to turn the tables and convince their parents to step out of their standard voting practice. Simple conversations can really change the game. The voting age does not have to dictate how soon you can get informed and get involved! 17: Do you have any advice for young people who want to pursue politics? KD: Volunteer for a campaign. It may not be your ending point, but it&amp;#039;s a fantastic place to start. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/a19113/elect-next-founder-keya-dannenbaum/>