MumbaiVotes is an independent information bank that is housed under a non-profit, the Informed Voter Project. They provide the most comprehensive portal on performance-related information about elected representatives, candidates, and parties in the Indian political system. It is entirely funded by small-dollar and grassroots donations. Their research team is staffed by college students in Mumbai, who receive university credit for their political journalism.

Theory of Change

Awareness about the voting record and performance of candidates helps voters make evidence-based decisions, paving the way for a more informed representative democracy.

Activities

MumbaiVotes volunteers conduct video interviews of Members of Parliament, the Legislative Assembly, and candidates for Indian elections on their stances and parliamentary actions, which are shared on the MumbaiVotes website in multimedia and written transcript formats. Additionally, research teams create ‘report cards’ on politicians outlining the politicians' background, detailing the their educational history, criminal record, financial assets, promises made, and promises kept in order to present them in a transparent and objective manner. Information gathered is further analyzed to provide cross-cutting data on promises versus performance, attendance records, voting records, debate participation, bill introductions, and more.

Results

MumbaiVotes has tracked the performance history and actions of 2,522 politicians and candidates across four Indian elections.