Swipe Right for Civic Engagement

In this year’s presidential election, Generation Z and millennial voters will make up 48.5% of eligible voters. By 2028, these generations will likely comprise the majority of eligible voters in the United States. Yet motivating them to register and engage at every level of government remains a challenge. How do you inspire young voters in a time of rampant misinformation, overwhelming issues, and fatalistic attitudes?

Arabia Simeon ’19 believes she has the answer: Politics on the Go (POGO), a mobile app that simplifies civic engagement for Gen Z and millennials. POGO uses a dating app format to match users with political candidates based on how closely their views align, providing clear, nonpartisan information to help young people make informed voting decisions.

“Gen Z and millennials are not making informed voting decisions,” Simeon says. “Most of us get our news from social media—and a lot of that is filled with fake news, but we don’t trust traditional news outlets. Forty percent of Gen Z and millennials report that they don’t even complete their ballots.”

With POGO, users answer key questions and receive a ranked list of political candidates in federal, state, and local elections based on their responses. This way, they can create a personalized ballot within the app, avoiding guesswork at the polls—or leaving ballots blank. The app also features guides on voting basics and civic engagement.

POGO is nonpartisan and does not sell personal information. It won’t rely on advertising for revenue but will serve as a polling platform for businesses and organizations. “When it comes to polling, Gen Z and millennials are not well represented,” Simeon says. “Polling agencies and various organizations struggle to reach them.” Through a subscription model, businesses can survey the POGO community directly within the app, using gamification features common in other apps.

Available on the Apple App Store (search “POGO: Politics on the Go”), POGO is already gaining media attention, including a feature on CBS News. Simeon, a semifinalist for the 2024 Black Ambition Prize, which funds ideas and companies led by Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs, launched the app in her hometown of Detroit.

POGO’s roots trace back to an entrepreneurship class at Smith’s Jill Ker Conway Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, where Simeon—a studio art and computer science double major—and her team initially envisioned a support center for low-income, BIPOC political candidates. Though the concept evolved, Simeon’s commitment to engaging marginalized communities in politics remained strong. This led to her developing the app as part of a special studies project in her senior year.

After graduation, Simeon completed a user experience boot camp, using POGO as her case study. “I spoke to over 100 voters and politicians through interviews and surveys,” she says. “I tested designs. I talked to people about their relationship to voting.” This feedback shaped POGO’s current iteration.

Simeon secured a fellowship with Venture for America—a nonprofit that connects recent college graduates with startups—then moved to Detroit and gained valuable experience at a human resources technology firm. There, she participated in pitch competitions, startup accelerators, and design challenges, raising nearly $50,000 in funding for POGO.

Now working on POGO full time with two freelancers and several interns, including Vivian Pittard ’26 and Aushanae Haller ’23, Simeon is also expanding her board of advisers. Among them is Dana Chisnell, a pioneering public interest technology expert. While POGO currently covers Michigan’s state and local elections, Simeon plans to expand coverage nationwide in the coming years.

Simeon is encouraged by the growing interest in POGO. “We’re taking a new and innovative approach to civic engagement,” she says, “giving younger people the opportunity to not only learn about political candidates but also to learn how to get involved with what’s going on in their local community.”