Before delivering his powerful keynote on innovation and civic responsibility at Austin’s South by Southwest festival last Friday, President Barack Obama visited Austin’s infamous Torchy’s Tacos where he ordered a Democrat taco, a Republican taco and an Independent taco. If you’ve never experienced Torchy’s Tacos you’re totally missing out.
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But one thing President Obama does not want us to miss out on is our right to vote. In a call to action, the president challenges both tech innovators to make technology work for the community and for private citizens to engage in technology to help influence change.
“We’re the only advanced democracy in the world that makes it harder for people to vote,” Obama said. He noted that it was “easier to order a pizza than vote.”
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“How do we redesign our systems so we don’t have 50% voter participation?” he asked.
Who’s to say we couldn’t be looking to a future of simultaneously ordering Torchy’s politically named tacos on a voting app?
Obama also addressed issues regarding the U.S government and private citizens’ smartphones in criminal cases and outlined what would happen if the government couldn’t access digital communications.
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President Obama became the first sitting president to appear at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival on its 30th anniversary. His entire conversation can be caught here.
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