The Ocean State Policy Research Institute (OSPRI) announces another advancement in making RI's government open and transparent. Rhode Island Votes is an interactive database where citizens can search, sort and track voting records and legislation.

 

The Transparency Train Open Government Project was announced last summer by introducing RI Data, an online database of budgets, payrolls, contracts, check registers and other financial data. Today OSPRI announces its second stop for the train called Rhode Island Votes.

 

"Soon we will be going to the polls but very few of us really know what the politicians have been doing" said William Felkner, OSPRI president. "Now there is a place for voters to easily find out if their representative is supporting the issues they feel are important."

 

The Web site condenses every piece of legislation into layman's terms and sorts them among 50 categories ranging from abortion to water. The legislation can then be searched by these categories or by the bill number, sponsor or even simple keywords, just like any Google-style search.

Individual voting records can be searched the same way and these records can also produce Scorecards that evaluate legislators on pre-set voting criteria.

 

And to encourage citizen participation, there are email alerts and community message boards available.

Pleased with the early success of the project Felkner said, "Of course, during election season the site is used mostly for opposition research, but the variety of email questions we are receiving tells us the users are still a diverse bunch. Politicians, reporters, and concerned citizens have all found the Transparency Train to be their one-stop-shopping for public information." 

Created in 2007, the Ocean State Policy Research Institute is focused on crafting sound public policy based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values. We offer timely research and analysis on important issues to be shared with elected officials, the media, business leaders, community organizations and individual citizens. OSPRI is the sponsor of the Transparency Train located at www.transparencytrain.com.

 

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If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with William Felkner, please call Matt Giardina at 401/228-6691 or e-mail Matt at info@oceanstatepolicy.org.