« New "VoteLog" Feature Makes Legislative Actions More Transparent Than Ever Before »

"Motion approved!"

With a simple “yea” or “nay,” elected officials make decisions that impact their community in many different ways. Now, there is an easier way to share that with the public. Today, I’m excited to introduce VoteLog, another Granicus innovation to increase transparency and save government staff time and money.

VoteLog allows the public to browse and search the actions taken during meetings, enabling them to track legislation over time as well as how their elected officials are voting on legislation and topics of interest to them.

No longer do folks have to wait weeks (or even months!) for Freedom of Information Act requests, finalized minutes documents to be published, or sift through copious amounts of information to find out what happened during recent or past meetings. VoteLog is the one-stop shop on a government agency's website for an easy-to-comprehend snapshot of meeting actions. And best of all, it’s completely automated using the data already contained in a Granicus solution so there is no additional work required of staff!

Here’s an overview of some of the key features of this new transparency tool:

• Browse or search

  Viewers can browse the most recent meetings to see what issues a meeting body has been deciding on lately or search the archives to track histories for ordinances, resolutions, and agenda items. Finding information is fast and easy with options to refine searches by ordinance/resolution number or keywords, meeting body, elected official, and date range.
  
  

  

• Cross-linked to meeting video

  VoteLog search results offer viewers the ability to see how the meeting body acted on an agenda item and jump directly to the discussion leading up to the vote in the meeting video, as well as review any supporting documents.
  
  

  

•  Share over social media

  With a built-in sharing feature, staff and citizens alike can instantly spread the word on the outcome of important legislation over social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. This also gives elected officials the ability to easily tout their voting record directly to constituents to keep them informed and up-to-date on the latest issues they’re addressing.

Check it out!

To see the new tool, check out the VoteLog tab on these client sites: Peralta Community College District and Oregon City. Also, don’t forget to tell me what you think! Leave a comment below or complete the pop-up survey about your experience.

Next steps?

• For more information on the product and its features, check our product page here.
• VoteLog is a free upgrade for any client in the Meeting Efficiency Suite and above. Complete this form to sign-up for a complimentary consultation with your Account Manager to find out how to take advantage of this new tool.
• For non-clients, to learn more click here to sign up for a demo with one of our Sales Representatives.