With a career in retail and mixed-use development, Robb Brown saw his business stall as the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
As his company, the Denver Retail Group, saw its projects slow, Brown began searching for new opportunities to leverage his energy and his company’s expertise.
Right around that time, George Floyd was killed, and Brown was drawn to social impact projects. After wrestling with some ideas, he decided to focus his energy on increased access to voting.
“Yes, we have the right to vote, but people have been challenged since day one, particularly in Black communities around the country,” he told Colorado Inno.
Brown, along with Mallory Varney of Denver Retail Group, created Guard My Vote, a free voter suppression reporting app that launched this week.
The Guard My Vote app provides information on voter suppression and allows end-users to record localized voting experiences via their mobile camera. From there, they can share their experiences via text, email and tagged tweets with local election officials, the Secretary of State and the public.
“There are all types of voter suppression out there, and we decided that we can never develop a mobile application that addresses all of those things. But what we can do is think about things that seem a little untoward,” Brown said.
The app allows voters to identify and report some of the most common methods of voter suppression, including restrictive voter ID rules, lack of language support, closed polling locations or reduced voting hours.
The goal is to provide truthful information and prompt action in a non-partisan way to reduce voter suppression incidents, Brown said.
The company was able to pivot an app it previously used to survey airports to develop Guard My Vote. While unexpected pivots are never easy, Varney is pleased with the decision.
“Making the switch from the airport survey app to put it to a good use that has a strong social impact has been an awesome last few months of discovery,” she said.
Following the election season, Guard My Vote will analyze user data and publish its findings to better benchmark voter experiences. The app is available now for free download in Apple Store and Google Play.
And this isn’t just a short-term play, Brown envisions a long-lasting, national impact for the app.
“We intend to be here in a much better place for the midterm elections and many other elections in between,” Brown said.
