Poly

Politics, in plain English.

Poly is a mobile-first web app that helps Gen Z voters understand political issues, simplify legislation, and discover which candidates align with their values. Built for clarity and trust, Poly transforms complex civic information into an engaging, location-aware experience.

What It Does

• Vibe Check: Swipe through political issues to build your values profile without needing deep political knowledge
• Civic Match: See which local candidates align with your values based on issue agreement, not party affiliation
• No-Read Translator: Paste or upload policy documents and get AI-powered explanations in plain language
• Ask Poly Chat: Ask follow-up questions about policies, candidates, or civic topics in a conversational interface
• Location-Aware: Enter your ZIP code to see candidates and elections relevant to where you actually vote

Key Features

• Interactive 3D-style U.S. map landing experience
• Neutral, factual framing focused on values alignment rather than voting recommendations
• Mobile-optimized swipe and tap interactions
• AI-powered policy explanations via Amazon Bedrock
• Local JSON data architecture for reliable demos

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion
• Build Tool: Vite
• Backend: AWS Lambda, API Gateway, Amazon Bedrock
• Data: DynamoDB, local JSON files
• Testing: Vitest, Testing Library, Fast-check (property-based testing)

Getting Started

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run development server
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Preview production build
npm run preview

# Run linter
npm run lint

Project Structure

poly/
├── src/
│   ├── components/       # React components (VibeCheck, CandidateCard, etc.)
│   ├── services/         # Business logic and API services
│   ├── engines/          # Matching and location resolution logic
│   ├── context/          # React context providers
│   ├── data/             # Local JSON data files
│   ├── types/            # TypeScript type definitions
│   └── lambda/           # AWS Lambda functions
├── public/               # Static assets
└── __tests__/            # Unit and property-based tests

Design Philosophy

Poly is built on three core principles:

1. Neutral & Trustworthy: Present information factually without political bias
2. Location-First: Tie all content to the user's actual voting jurisdiction
3. Gen Z Native: Fast, mobile-friendly, and conversational without being gimmicky

Development

This project uses:

• TypeScript for type safety
• ESLint for code quality
• Vitest for unit testing
• Fast-check for property-based testing
• Tailwind CSS for styling

License

MIT