Branch Politics

What Branch Politics does

Branch Politics, operating through its legal entity Branch Chat PBC, is a nonpartisan civic technology company founded in May 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. The company operates branch.vote, a free web-based platform built on Next.js that allows individual voters to enter their registered address, automatically matches them to the relevant local voting districts, and generates a personalized ballot along with standardized nonpartisan summaries of every candidate — including their stated positions, backgrounds, and campaign backers. Coverage spans federal, state, and local races (school boards, city councils, etc.) across 12 U.S. states: Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Montana, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. The platform differentiates from national voter-information tools by systematically covering the smaller, locally-focused races that national outlets tend to ignore, supported by partnerships with 7 civic engagement organizations and earned media coverage from NPR/WABE, Atlanta Magazine, VoyageATL, and other outlets.

The business is structured as a civic-mission organization rather than a commercial enterprise: all features are free for voters, there are no pricing tiers, subscriptions, or paid products, and no revenue is publicly disclosed. The company raised approximately $25,000 via Kickstarter in August 2020 (from 350 voter contributors) and $120,000 via Techstars in December 2022, totaling roughly $145,000 in disclosed capital. Its products consist of the core Branch Ballot Lookup Platform, Candidate Research & Profiles, State Election Pages, and The Session (a daily Georgia legislative newsletter launched January 2021). Distribution is product-led and self-serve via organic search, content marketing, earned media, and partnerships; there is no sales team. The team consists of Founder & CEO Walter Ley (ex-fintech engineer and PM, Georgia Tech EE), Director of Research Operations Buket Urgen, Senior Researcher Matthew Tomas, Partner Impact Lead Ananya Panda, and approximately 11 additional researchers and contributors. As of the 2021 municipal elections the platform had helped look up over 11,000 ballots — roughly 10% of Atlanta voter turnout — and cumulatively served over 30,000 voters during the 2020 election cycle.

Name

Branch Politics

Legal name

Branch Chat PBC

Website

https://branch.vote

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Branch Politics (legal entity Branch Chat PBC) is a nonpartisan web platform that matches voters to local districts, builds personalized ballots, and provides standardized candidate summaries across federal, state, and local races in 12 U.S. states, offered free to individual voters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic voter information platform

NAICS

Political Organizations (813940)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Voter information platform
• Election ballot lookup
• Nonpartisan civic engagement
• Candidate research profiles
• Local election coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free Voter Platform: The core platform is completely free for voters with no monetization strategy explicitly stated. The company appears to operate as a civic mission-driven organization rather than a traditional commercial enterprise. They raised $25,000+ via Kickstarter in 2020.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Branch Politics operates branch.vote, a free, nonpartisan website that allows voters to enter their address, get matched to their local voting districts, and view a personalized ballot. The platform summarizes each candidate's positions, beliefs, and campaign backers through standardized interviews. It also publishes state-level election pages covering 12 states and runs The Session, a daily email newsletter covering legislative activity.

Product overview

Branch Politics operates as a single unified platform focused on voter education and ballot preparation. The core product is the Branch Ballot Lookup Platform, which matches users to their local districts based on their address and presents personalized ballot information. This platform is enhanced by Candidate Research & Profiles that provide nonpartisan summaries of candidates and their positions. The company also offers The Session, a daily email newsletter for legislative session coverage, and maintains State Election Pages covering multiple U.S. states. The platform does not appear to follow a platform-plus-modules architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branch Ballot Lookup Platform A free, nonpartisan website that allows voters to enter their address and receive a personalized ballot matching them to all relevant local voting districts (districts can be as small as one block). It is built for individual voters nationwide and forms the core consumer touchpoint of Branch Politics, with no paid tiers or subscriptions.
• Candidate Research and Profiles Nonpartisan summaries of candidates, their positions on key issues, their backgrounds, and their campaign backers, produced through standardized interviews to ensure fair treatment across party lines. Used by voters through the Branch ballot lookup platform to inform voting decisions across federal, state, and local races.
• The Session Newsletter A daily email newsletter launched in January 2021 that keeps voters informed about legislative sessions (initially the 2021 Georgia legislative session), extending Branch's civic engagement coverage beyond election periods for registered voters who want ongoing policy awareness.
• State Election Pages State-specific election information pages on branch.vote/elections that provide in-depth information on hundreds of local candidates across Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Montana, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Includes candidate information and election dates organized by state.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% of Branch users voted across party-lines, 3x the national average
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 7 Civic Engagement OrganizationscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2020Branch partnered with 7 civic engagement organizations in November 2020 to expand outreach. These partnerships helped drive over 30,000 voters to the platform during the 2020 election cycle. The organizations likely assisted with distribution and awareness among their networks of civic-minded voters.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ballotpedia: Nonpartisan nonprofit encyclopedia of American politics covering federal, state, and local elections, including candidate profiles and ballot measures. It is the most established direct peer to Branch in the voter-information space, with a much larger content library and institutional funding base.
• Democracy Works (TurboVote): Nonpartisan nonprofit behind TurboVote that helps voters register, get election reminders, and find ballot information. Operates in the same voter-information/ballot-prep category as Branch and is a direct functional competitor for voter-engagement partnerships with civic organizations.
• Vote411 (League of Women Voters): Nonpartisan voter-information tool from the League of Women Voters that lets voters enter their address to see a personalized ballot with candidate responses. Closely overlaps Branch on address-based ballot lookup and nonpartisan candidate research.
• Vote Smart: Nonpartisan nonprofit providing candidate bios, voting records, and interest-group ratings across all U.S. elections. Operates in the same nonpartisan candidate-information category as Branch, especially for down-ballot races.
• iSideWith: Nonpartisan platform that uses a political quiz to help voters see which candidates align with their views. Comparable to Branch in serving voters with personalized, nonpartisan election information, though with a different quiz-driven UX.
• BallotReady (now Known Voting): Voter information platform that matches users to their ballot and provides nonpartisan candidate information. Direct peer to Branch on the address-based personalized-ballot product, with overlapping civic-engagement organization distribution model.

Broad incumbents

• Rock the Vote: Long-standing nonpartisan civic engagement nonprofit focused on voter registration and turnout among younger voters. Overlaps Branch on civic engagement and voter mobilization, but with a much broader mission and significantly larger institutional footprint.
• HeadCount: Nonpartisan nonprofit that uses music and live events to promote voter registration and civic participation. Comparable to Branch in the nonpartisan voter-engagement space, though oriented around event-based activation rather than ballot lookup.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/branchpolitics
• Facebookfacebook.com/branchpolitics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/branchpolitics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Branch Politics