NYC Political Compass
The same method moved into a different political system and a different language: the New York City mayoral race.
- Year
- 2025
- Services
- Voting compass · Localisation
- Role
- Design, build, fieldwork
- Platform
- nyc.buso.ro
The challenge
An engine built for Romania, tested on an American race
An electoral compass is not translated, it is rebuilt. The issues that separate the camps in Bucharest are not the ones in New York, and the structure of the contest — primaries, independents, a far more segmented electorate — changes both the items and the way the result is presented.
What we built
New items, familiar engine, an English interface
The architecture stayed as it had worked in Romania; the content layer was rewritten completely — local issues, the mayoral candidates’ positions, language and examples for an American audience. The platform runs in English at nyc.buso.ro.
What came out
The second country the method has run in
The project is part of doctoral research into digital civic instruments. It confirmed the part we cared about: the engine travels, the items do not.