Ballot Decoded
A voter helper that takes an absurdly long candidate list (like Clacton's 34) and filters it down to genuine contenders, then surfaces each one's actual policies, background, and stated reasons for running — including a "skip the joke candidates" mode by default.
UK voters facing packed by-election or local-election ballots
- "Real candidates only" toggle that hides joke parties and obvious stunt entries
- Side-by-side policy comparison drawn from each candidate's published materials and verified social posts
- Plain-language explainer of what the seat actually controls and what the MP will vote on
Clacton's 34-candidate by-election set a modern UK record, with main parties sitting it out — exactly the kind of ballot where voters most need help telling candidates apart and most news coverage does not bother to do it.
Clacton's 34-candidate by-election was a genuine record covered by BBC and Echo; Vote Compass UK reached 500k users showing VAAs attract real voter interest, but demand spikes only around elections.Record 34 candidates to compete in Clacton by-election ↗Online tool helps voters match with their ideal political party ↗
Several UK VAAs exist (Vote Compass, WhoGetsMyVote, VoteGPT) covering general elections; none specifically target long ballots or by-elections, but Vote for Policies shut down after 15 years showing the niche is fragile.VoteGPT - Election Assistant: Understand and Compare Candidate Policies ↗Vote for Policies ↗
No search evidence of paid voter apps in the UK; VAAs are typically free academic/nonprofit tools, and Vote for Policies ceasing operations suggests monetization is very difficult.Vote for Policies ↗
UK elections are recurring but spaced apart, with by-elections sporadic; demand is event-driven and fades between votes, limiting sustained daily engagement.Clacton by-election attracts 34 candidates ↗
Democracy Club's free Voting Information API provides comprehensive UK candidate data used by Google and the Electoral Commission, making the core data layer trivial; policy summarization and filtering logic add moderate effort.Data-powered democracy: Voting Information APIs | Democracy Club ↗Electoral Commission - Election information API ↗