By: Asia Rollins – February 21, 2025
re-posted with permission from https://theomahastar.com/
When Heather Nelson went to testify as a neutral party in front of a legislative committee at the Capitol in Lincoln last month, she said it was a full-circle moment for a vision that she had over two years ago.
“The 3:11 am vision had been completed in one whole loop of everything that had been laid out, and we made it to the end,” Nelson said. “For us, it was huge.”
Nelson is the founder and CEO of Ideologix Insights, a data and analytics company that powers Poll the Vote, a nonpartisan platform that facilitates civic and community engagement. During Nelson’s testimony, she was at the Capitol to represent all Nebraskans and share results from a recent that her company had conducted. The company had put out a poll for proposed legislation that would change Nebraska’s electoral college process.
Every Nebraska who was 15 or older with a verified account on Poll the vote could take part in the poll. Participants came from across the state, with 30% located in Omaha or Lincoln. Of those who participated, 91.83% voted to keep the electoral college voting system the same.
Poll the Vote was developed with the help of 19 Nebraskans. Nelson hopes the platform, which has gained around 1,000 users since its launch last year, will empower individuals in the legislative process and allow decision-makers to connect with community members.
Gathering insights
Any Nebraskan who’s 15 or older can create a free account on Poll the Vote to connect with stakeholders in their communities.
“We don’t get involved in supporting one side or the other,” she said. “We’re here to collect unilaterally the voice of anyone who wants to participate, and then we render that data as it comes in.”
When a poll is sent out, voter information is anonymized. Results are aggregated into insight reports.
Elected officials, candidates, community organizations, and businesses can register for paid subscription-based accounts on Poll the Vote. These accounts allow them to maintain a page on the system, send out polls, provide short announcements and share a digital newsletter.
Poll the Vote is not a social media platform. Anonymity and privacy were top priorities Nelson had when trying to create the system.
“There are no ads, and there’s no comments to manage,” she said. “It’s just putting out the information.”
Through Poll the Vote, users can participate in different types of polls. People’s Polls gather feedback from a large group, while Pulse Polls are quick ways that elected officials can gauge people’s feelings on specific issues or legislative bills.
Heather testifying at legislature
From Dreams to Reality
Though more people are joining Poll the Vote each month, Nelson said she never saw herself in the civic engagement realm. For the last 20 years, Nelson has taught business and innovation courses at institutions in the Omaha area. Before her time as a professor, she worked in the banking industry.
Throughout her career, she’s had a passion for helping people find their purpose and put their business ideas into motion.
It wasn’t until Nelson watched a news segment in 2022 that her perspective changed. The segment showed a mother crying while advocating for a legislative bill that would help her child. The segment sparked something in Nelson, and she wanted to do more. She decided to go to the Capitol in Lincoln to testify but missed the opportunity.
A few weeks after watching the segment, Nelson experienced what she descripted as a dream-like event. During the event, she saw herself holding her phone. She was asked about how she wanted to vote for an upcoming bill and whether she would vote for or against it.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into when this vision started, but I just knew I wanted that system,” she said.
Despite her strong background in entrepreneurship, Nelson knew she needed someone with technical experience to make her vision a reality. To do this, she called her former classmate, John Collard, who is the chief technology officer of Ideologix Insights. Nelson and Collard had been in the same master’s program and had collaborated on projects before.
Nelson said the two work well together because they have different skills that balance each other out. Nelson handles the business side, while Collard manages the nuts and bolts of technology.
Our Team
To launch, the Ideologix Insights team secured a $75,000 state grants through the Business Innovation Act in 2023. The company began putting together polls last year for local, state and national elections. Ideologix Insights will soon apply for another grant to support the next phase of software development.
“I would encourage everybody to get in there and look around at least because it is a way to communicate with your elected officials,” Collard said. “In a time and age where there is so much disparity going on with people’s opinions on things and what’s happening in the government, we need that communication.”
Collard said interactions between elected officials and voters often only occur during election seasons, and he hopes Poll the vote will change this pattern. He wants to promote civic engagement year-round and is hoping to reach even more people through the platform. Collard believes platforms like Poll the Vote should be available in every state so that constituents can effectively keep up with their elected officials.
Expanding into communities
Beyond keeping people informed, Poll the Vote promotes community engagement. Community liaisons focus on outreach and support for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities The educate users on how to use Poll the vote, help people identify representatives in their district, provide policy information and connect people to tools that will help them have a voice in advocacy.
“I just really think it’s important for BIPOC – not only youth, but families – to have a voice and be connected,” said Michella Crumbley-Blankman, Poll the Vote community liaison for North and South Omaha.
Crumbley-Blankman believes Poll the Vote is important because it connects individuals with local representatives and serves as an educational tool.
Ideologix Insights has built out Poll the Vote to support all 50 states and currently has users in over 15 states. To learn more about Poll the vote and Ideologix Insights, visit: https://pollthevote.com/ideologix
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The Omaha Star newspaper is available by subscription. Physical copies of the newspaper can be purchased at 2216 N 24th St. Omaha, NE 68110. Terri D. Sanders is the owner and publisher.
Re-posted with permission
About Michella Crumley-Blankman, community liaison for Poll The Vote
Michella is a North Omaha native and black woman who is happily part of a blended family of 6, mirroring the change in today’s family nuclear makeup. She is an experienced leader and invested advocate with a lifelong passion to be of service to her family, faith and community. Michella has been working with Poll The Vote since its inception to support BIPOC outreach initiatives.
She can be reached at: YourVoteCounts@PollTheVote.com