The idea that every vote counts has long been a tenet of US democracy. Unfortunately, since 2013, a disturbing trend has emerged — simply casting a ballot is becoming more difficult

This presidential election will be the first since a 2013 Supreme Court Decision (Shelby vs. Holder) struck down key parts of the Voting Rights Act. 

Since then, 14 states have added new voting restrictions in 2016, including swing states Arizona, Ohio, and Florida. Restrictions include stricter voter ID laws, reduced early voting, and laws that make it more difficult for people with past criminal convictions to restore their voting rights. 

Read more: The Controversial Reason One in Thirteen Black Americans Can’t Vote

Due to the changes in the laws knowing your rights as a voter is more difficult than in years past, especially when your primary language is Spanish. This is why the non-profit, non-partisan organization LatinoJustice PRLDEF created an app called Cada Voto Cuenta (Every Vote Counts) to address this problem head-on. 

The app, available in both Spanish and English, informs voters on their rights in 14 states with high Latino populations, and allows them to report voter rights infringements, including improper signage and voter intimidation, in real-time. In five states — New York, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania — 300 trained pro-bono legal volunteers will be on-the-ground with the smartphone app to counsel voters who have experienced voter discrimination. 

“[Cada Voto Cuenta is] a civic engagement tool that puts the power in the hands of everyday people to document what is happening,” Joanna Cuevas Ingram, the coordinator of the Cada Voto Cuenta initiative, told Global Citizen. 

The app, which has been downloaded about 1,000 times so far, is simple to use, with the options to report voter discrimination to LatinoJustice, call a hotline monitored by non-profit organization, Naleo Educational Fund, or inform yourself of your voting rights.

Read more: Why It’s Getting Harder and Harder to Vote in the US

Cuevas Ingram believes that new technologies not only make it easier to monitor voter discrimination in real-time, but also to document statistics for future use. 

“We turned to technology so that people aren’t harmed in the process [of voting], but also to collect and understand data at polling places,” she said. “Ultimately, if thousands of folks are downloading the app in 14 states … we can report to Congress about the need for voting rights.” 

LatinoJustice isn’t the only organization looking to harness technology to report on voter suppression in the US. 

Another, Ushahidi, which began in Kenya as a crowd-sourced platform to monitor the Kenyan election in 2007, will be available in the US — allowing voters to report instances of voter suppression, long lines, and violence.   

Read more: Why 2016 Is the Year Latino Voters Are Showing Up to Vote

The Cada Voto Cuenta app is unique in that it focuses on the linguistic component of voter suppression. The Voting Rights Act requires that important election information — be it notices of a changed polling place or the ballots themselves — is provided “in the language of the applicable minority group as well as in the English language.” That’s why if in a state like Florida, signs aren’t provided in both languages, it could be an infringement on voting rights. 

The app also allows users to send in video recordings of voter discrimination (but be careful of state laws that prohibit recording video at polling sites!) and has a GPS function that can indicate to LatinoJustice the exact location where the complaint is being filed.  

If early voting is any indication, this could be a record year for voter turnout in the US, especially for the Latino community. But despite increases in early voter turnout in states like Nevada and Florida, there have also been reports of long lines and the threat of election day violence. Apps like Cada Voto Cuenta can play an important role in ensuring that those who wish to cast a ballot can do so without fear of retaliation. 

As Cuevas Ingram put it: “No matter what your background is, you are a part of an electoral society, and you should have a voice in this society.”

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