About · Independent · nonpartisan

Closing the gap between citizens and Congress.

We believe democracy works better when citizens have the tools to understand, engage with, and influence the legislation that shapes their lives.

Coleman Dumas IV, founder of Democracy Unlocked

Meet the founder

Coleman Dumas IV

I built Democracy Unlocked because the votes that shape our lives are public, yet finding them, and making sense of them, takes more time than most people have.

Every vote here comes from the official congressional record. Enter your ZIP, see what your representatives did, and decide for yourself whether they voted the way you would.

Our mission

Information, so you can think for yourself.

Most Americans care deeply about the issues affecting their communities. Yet the legislative process remains opaque, jargon-heavy, and difficult to follow. The result is a gap between what Congress does and what citizens understand.

Democracy Unlocked bridges that gap. We use AI to translate complex legislation into plain language, provide balanced analysis of every bill, and give citizens a platform to vote, discuss, and track their civic engagement over time.

This is not about telling people what to think. It's about giving them the information they need to think for themselves.

How it works

Read, vote, understand.

  1. Read

    Every bill is analyzed by AI to produce a plain-language summary, balanced pros and cons, and impact assessment across demographics.

  2. Vote

    Cast your position on real Congressional bills. Your vote is anonymous and private. Track your voting history and see how your views evolve.

  3. Understand

    See how citizens across the platform feel about every bill. Explore policy areas, compare perspectives, and engage in moderated discussions.

Our principles

What we stand for.

  • Nonpartisan

    We never take sides. Every analysis presents arguments for and against, sourced from multiple perspectives. Our job is to inform, not persuade.

  • Privacy-first

    Your votes are anonymous. We don't sell data, don't track behavior for ads, and don't share personal information with anyone.

  • Transparent

    Our methodology is open. AI summaries are labeled as AI-generated. We link to original bill text on Congress.gov so you can always verify.

  • Free forever

    Civic tools should never be behind a paywall. Democracy Unlocked is free to use and will remain so. Democracy belongs to everyone.

  • Moderated

    Discussions are moderated to maintain respectful, constructive dialogue. We believe disagreement is healthy — incivility is not.

  • Open source

    Our code is publicly available on GitHub. We believe in building trust through transparency and community accountability.

FAQ

Common questions.

Are votes on this platform real?
Your votes here are a form of citizen expression — they reflect your position on legislation. They are not official Congressional votes, but they do contribute to a public sentiment picture that shows how citizens feel about real bills.
How does the AI analysis work?
We use large language models to analyze the full text of each bill and generate plain-language summaries, balanced arguments for and against, and impact assessments. AI output is always labeled and linked to the original source text.
Is this affiliated with the U.S. Government?
No. Democracy Unlocked is an independent civic technology platform. Bill data is sourced from the public Congress.gov API.
How is my data used?
Your vote data is aggregated anonymously to show public sentiment. We do not sell personal data, serve targeted ads, or share individual voting records with anyone.
Can I see the source code?
Yes. The project is open source on GitHub. We welcome contributions and feedback from the community.

Data sources

Where our data comes from.

See what Congress is doing.

Start exploring legislation and casting your votes today.

Browse bills
About | Democracy Unlocked