Voters Direct, Inc., a nonpartisan, not-for-profit political organization, seeks to create a more responsive government and a more effective election process by facilitating a direct line of communication between voters, their elected officials and candidates for political office.

Our Mission

Voters Direct, Inc. was established to:
• eliminate the need for the excessive fundraising that corrupts our political process
• facilitate communication between voters and their elected officials, thus making those officials more responsive
• empower voters to reclaim their influence in the political process.

How We Do It

Voters Direct, Inc. will achieve its mission by creating and maintaining an internet portal that uses the Social Networking Platform, similar to sites like MySpace, FaceBook or YouTube.

As voters post their profile on the Voters Direct website they will be giving presidential candidates the opportunity to directly market ideas and positions on important issues. If a significant number of voters gather on the site, this will allow the second- and third-tier candidates to level the playing field. The advantage of having raised the most money could be eliminated. This would create an electoral process that values that candidates who have the best ideas and who are the best leaders — not those who are the best fund-raisers.

As the voters gather on the Voters Direct site, they will be organized by state and congressional district. This will allow Voters Direct to facilitate a direct line of communication between its users and their Senate and House representatives. It is the organization’s goal to have this feature in place by late 2008 or early 2009. This two-way communication will encourage elected officials to be more responsive to their constituents.

Lastly, the Voters Direct website will have many online resources to help the site’s users stay informed on important political issues. The site will also facilitate discussion amongst voters with three important features: blogs that allow for reader comments, discussion groups, and petitions. To encourage civil discussions about the issues of the day, Voters Direct is requiring in its Terms of Service that every user have only one account and that they use their legal name. The site users will not be allowed to hide behind a screen name. This alone should encourage a more civil discussion than what is seen on many political sites.

Board of Directors

Adam Lingner, Founder
Joseph A. Ables, Jr., Attorney
Dick Romer, CPA

Advisory Board

Marian Deutschman
Joshua Dyck
Clem Eckert
Jack Finnegan
Kevin Hardwick, PhD
Damien LaManna
Tim O’Shei
Biagio Patti
Pat Rozler

How We Are Funded

The primary funding source for Voters Direct will be a small donation, $1 to $5 annually, required after a free 90 day trial has expired. Site users will also be given the opportunity to make additional contributions beyond the annual donation. Because it is a 501 (c)(3), donations are tax deductible and the organization does have the ability to receive support from foundation grants.
No corporate advertising or sponsorship will be accepted. Voters Direct has incorporated as a Not-for-Profit Corporation in the State of New York to be completely free of any commercial or special interest influence or profit motive.

A Message From The Founder

I am an independent voter living in the State of New York. I have not been particularly active in politics beyond voting. I am just an average citizen who believes something needs to be done to improve the responsiveness of our government and to minimize the impact of money on our political process. We are facing too many important issues to continue to have our political process corrupted.

Since coming up with the idea for Voters Direct I have discussed the project with hundreds of people. Amazingly, not one person has suggested to me that the electoral process is not broken. Everyone seems to know that it is. What has been in question is what to do about it. I think we can transform the political process with this idea and do it quickly. But I will need your help.

Voters Direct is giving you the opportunity to take back the political process from the corporate and special interests that are dominating the process right now. You can have a tremendous impact on the process by putting your profile on the site. In fact, putting your profile up on this site is like giving an equal donation to every candidate. You will be saying to the presidential candidates, “I am right here! You don’t need to raise all that money. I will give you a fair shot to share your ideas with me. In fact, if I like what I hear I will share your message with my friends, family, and co-workers on this site.”

You will be creating an electoral process that does not let the big contributors dominate the process. You will be creating a process that allows the candidates with the best ideas to succeed. You will be leveling the playing field for all the candidates to be heard no matter what the traditional news organizations think about them. Your voice will be heard again. And you can have an even greater impact on the process by gathering up your friends on this site to make your collective voices heard louder than ever before.

I look forward to working with you to transform our government into a reflection of the very best qualities we all have — our willingness to work hard to create a better life, our willingness to help others when they are down, our willingness to sacrifice for a great cause and our willingness to put ourselves at risk to defend freedom.

It is time to free the political process from the grip of big money and special interests.

Adam Lingner, Founder and Executive Director