Creating An App To Vote On
Prince George’s Community College Student Lemoni Conde Helps Launch New Voting App
Lead Photo: PGCC Student and Designer Lemoni Conde. All Photos Courtesy Prince George’s Community College
Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) student Lemoni Conde, helped launch Voting Buddy, a new web app designed to assist voters in their decision-making for elections. In Voting Buddy, users start by ranking categories of voting issues based on importance, such as foreign policy, healthcare, civil rights, and environmental issues.
Conde, getting involved in Voting Buddy’s launch, was an opportunity to explore one of her biggest passions. The web app was created by Dwight L. Williams, Ph.D., P.E., a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was appointed to the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and the Department of Political Science.
“I was inspired to become a part of the Voting Buddy team because I love politics,” says Conde, who is majoring in elementary education. “When I took a government class at Prince George’s Community College, it reignited my passion for politics and government. I was then able to get an internship related to politics which allowed me to see a new side to elections, and I realized there needed to be a change.”
Conde has played a significant role in launching Voting Buddy. She created and currently manages all of Voting Buddy’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and made an explainer video with narration for new users. Her efforts to spread awareness of the app have been very successful—for the 2022 midterm election cycle, Voting Buddy received over 20,000 page views. The web app has also received visitors from India, the U.K., and the Netherlands, indicating to the team that people abroad are interested in learning more about American politics.
“Lemoni demonstrated her initiative and political savvy by developing the first Voting Buddy explainer video completely on her own,” says Dr. Williams. “We have relied on her to communicate all of Voting Buddy’s new features as they come online. She has been instrumental in making Voting Buddy what it is today.”
As Voting Buddy expands its online presence, Dr. Williams and Ms. Conde remain excited to share this innovative new experience with voters everywhere. “I believe Voting Buddy is the new wave of the future,” says Conde. “When Mr. Dwight told me about the concept and the vision, I knew that this would have a positive impact on the world, and I wanted to get in on the action.”
Voting Buddy then calculates those rankings into a personalized report that identifies the user’s political ideology. After entering their state and zip code, users can find like-minded candidates in their electoral district who share the same political beliefs. Voting Buddy currently has over 1,300 politicians.
In addition, the college has hired two new VPS to their senior leadership team. Justin Douds as Vice President for Policy and General Counsel, and Dr. Sherrie Johnson as Vice President for External Affairs, Communications, and Advancement. Both positions are new additions to the institution to advance the college’s position as a strategic partner.
This is what college president Dr. Falecia D. Williams has to say about the appointments.
“Mr. Douds and Dr. Johnson are timely additions to the leadership team at Prince George’s Community College,” said Falecia D. Williams, Ed.D., president of the College. “They immediately stood out during the search process because of their strong backgrounds in educational leadership and demonstrated ability to partner effectively in support of organizational change. During the first few weeks in their respective roles, Mr. Douds and Dr. Johnson have already begun to lay the foundation for greater things to come, and we are excited about what is in store.”
