Author: Communications

  • Ballotpedia Partners with Citizen Portal to Enhance Voter Access to Local Government Information

    Ballotpedia Partners with Citizen Portal to Enhance Voter Access to Local Government Information

    Ballotpedia, America’s most trusted source for unbiased election and political information has partnered with Citizen Portal, the pioneering AI-powered platform that analyzes government meetings.

    This collaboration combines AI-powered meeting analysis with Ballotpedia’s comprehensive political encyclopedia to give voters and citizens richer, more accessible insights into local government decisions.

    Ballotpedia and Citizen Portal

    As part of this partnership, Ballotpedia will embed Citizen Portal’s school board AI-powered analysis tool within its platform, enabling millions of voters relying on Ballotpedia for election information to access detailed insights about their local government meetings and decisions.

    Leslie Graves, CEO of Ballotpedia
    Leslie Graves, CEO of Ballotpedia

    “Every voter deserves access to neutral, factual political information, no matter how local or technical the subject may be,” said Paul Allen, CEO and founder of Citizen Portal. “By partnering with Ballotpedia—the organization voters already trust for election information—we can help bridge that gap and ensure citizens have the tools they need to be more confident participants in our representative democracy.”

    “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to creating an educated, engaged electorate,” said Leslie Graves, founder and CEO of Ballotpedia. “While our Sample Ballot Lookup Tool and Candidate Connection surveys help voters understand who and what is on their ballot, Citizen Portal’s AI analysis helps them understand what their elected officials are actually doing in office.”

    The partnership underscores both organizations’ dedication to nonpartisan information delivery, ensuring equal access to government data that fosters democratic participation and accountability.

    About Citizen Portal

    Paul Allen, CEO of Citizen Portal
    Paul Allen, CEO of Citizen Portal

    Citizen Portal uses AI to analyze relevant and available data from government meetings and contextualize it through every voter’s unique query. In this effort we individualize everyone’s path to become wise civic participants and make informed decisions.

    Founded by Paul Allen of Ancestry.com, Citizen Portal is powered by SOAR’s AI tech stack. 

    About Ballotpedia

    Founded in 2007, Ballotpedia has grown from a small group of dedicated volunteers working on a handful of ballot measures to an essential resource for voters, media, and researchers.

    Ballotpedia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the public interest in creating an educated, engaged electorate and building a strong, healthy democracy. For free access to 600,000+ encyclopedic, professionally authored, and curated articles, visit Ballotpedia.org.

  • Unify Canada “Reclaiming the Future” Conference to feature Paul Allen, CEO of Citizen Portal.

    Unify Canada “Reclaiming the Future” Conference to feature Paul Allen, CEO of Citizen Portal.

    Paul Allen, the visionary entrepreneur behind Ancestry.com and the CEO of Citizen Portal will be speaking on “Reclaiming Resilience” on September 19 at the 4th annual We Unify “Reclaiming Conference.

    The conference, held September 19–21 at the BMO Centre has been organized by We Unify since 2021 as a grassroots effort to strengthen societal dialogue beyond partisan divides. The goal is to foster peaceful, respectful discussions to strengthen societal bonds and advance a better world.

    The three-day conference is structured around a few notable key themes like Reclaiming Justice: The New Resistance and Reclaiming Resilience, Reclaiming Health: Confronting Censorship and Reclaiming Sovereignty: Bringing Power Back to the People. On September 19, Allen will discuss Reclaiming Resilience.

    Notable speakers alongside Allen will include Dr. Robert Malone, Hon. Stockwell Day, Viva Frei, Bruce Pardy, Lisa Bildy, Michelle Ferreri, Jacob Wells, Dr. Frances Widdowson, Koleya Karringten, Jamie Sale, Brett Oland, Jennifer Johnson, and Faytene Grasseschi.

    About Paul Allen

    Paul Allen is a visionary entrepreneur driven by a desire to help people better understand their past heritage and future purpose. He’s the founder of Ancestry.com and his newest venture Citizen Portal. Allen founded Infobases in 1990, one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest-growing companies, and MyFamily.com in 1998, also attracted millions of users.

    About Citizen Portal

    Citizen Portal uses AI to analyze relevant and available data from government meetings and contextualize through every voter’s unique query. In this effort we individualize every voter’s path to become better citizens and make wise choices for their community. Citizen Portal is powered by SOAR’s AI tech stack. 

  • Citizen Portal offers lifetime access to founding members

    Citizen Portal offers lifetime access to founding members

    Sep 9th. 2025 — Citizen Portal is proud to announce the availability of 10,000 founding member subscriptions featuring lifetime access to early features of the product’s Beta version.

    Citizen Portal uses AI to analyze available data from government meetings and contextualize through every voter’s unique query.

    The technology, powered by SOAR, transcribes and organizes public meetings across city, county, state, and federal levels, transforming 60,000+ meetings each month into structured, timestamped articles, summaries, and searchable content. In this effort we individualize every voter’s path to become better citizens and make wise electoral choices. 

    Watch a recent interview for We Unify with the CEO of Citizen Portal, Paul Allen

    What is Citizen Portal?

    Created by Paul Allen, founder of Ancestry.com, Citizen Portal analyzes available government meeting data, and contextualizes the information for each user. Citizen Portal gives each citizen a critical AI tool that allows them to quickly understand and learn about topics they care about in their community. 

    “Power belongs with informed citizens,” said Paul Allen, founder of Ancestry.com and creator of Citizen Portal. “With Citizen Portal, anyone can better understand issues they care about—from school boards to state houses—without the noise. Our Founding Members aren’t just subscribers; they’re partners in building a healthier representative democracy.”

    When information is easily accessible and understood, civic leaders connect, people become less polarized , and communities grow stronger. For those who want to support our mission to help citizens be more informed and civic wise, join our users on the path to greater civic understanding and community purpose by becoming a founding member today.

    Founding Member Benefits

    • Lifetime access to core capabilities: civic alerts, advanced search & filters, saved lists, exports, and meeting transcripts where available
    • Premium newsletter coverage designed to be clear, trusted, and actionable
    • Founder-only perks: early access to upcoming features, quarterly leadership calls, a Founder badge & welcome gift
    • Coming soon, Founder-only: Founders’ feature votes (quarterly roadmap polls), badge pack for social, community spotlight recognition, and invite credits to gift limited access to peers
    • Privacy-first approach and a 30-day money-back guarantee

    Why Now

    When public information is clear and accessible, communities make better decisions. Citizen Portal personalizes civic information so every voter can follow the issues that matter most, reach their representatives, and bring facts into the light.

    Only 10,000 Founding Memberships are available. Will you be one of them?