Sunlight Foundation

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresspedia, the “citizens’ encyclopedia on Congress,” launched “Wiki the Vote,” the first comprehensive, citizen-driven reporting project to cover the 2008 congressional elections. Through the collaborative power of wikis, Congresspedia gives citizens the ability to report on the full record of every candidate running for Congress, well before the primary elections.

A joint project of the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Media and Democracy, Congresspedia is a non-partisan wiki which utilizes citizen reporting to compile information about Congress. As a wiki, its content can be drafted and edited by anyone with an Internet connection, but all additions are held to a high standard of fairness and accuracy, verifiable sourcing and neutral language. The standards are enforced by the community of editors that includes a paid editor, participating external experts and "regular" citizens.

"As we have seen with the current presidential campaign, the 2008 congressional candidates, both incumbents and challengers, will face heavy scrutiny by an army of citizens networked through the Internet," said Ellen Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation. "This Congresspedia project will assist citizens by giving them the tools they need to research candidates and share their knowledge on the records, agendas and influences of congressional incumbents and challengers."

More than 280 basic profiles of confirmed 2008 congressional candidates have been created to be expanded and updated by those who know them best: local citizens from the candidates’ districts. When the OpenSecrets.org 2008 congressional campaign contributions database goes online in a few weeks, the profiles will also display live feeds tracking the money race and who is funding it.

In true open-source fashion, candidates and campaign volunteers are free to contribute documented information about both challengers and incumbents.

"Contributions to Congresspedia are judged by their accuracy and sourcing - not who made them," said Conor Kenny, managing editor of Congresspedia. "We don't care who you are as long as what you add is written fairly and is verifiable as fact by the other editors.”

The Congresspedia wiki contains nearly 2,000 citizen-authored articles on legislation, lawmakers, committees and congressional procedure to give a comprehensive picture of how - and why - Congress operates as it does.

The Sunlight Foundation supports, develops and deploys new Internet technologies to make information about Congress and the federal government more accessible to the American people. Through its projects and grant-making, Sunlight serves as a catalyst to create greater political transparency and to foster more openness and accountability in government.

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