Pixel Primaries, created by Sid Shukla, is a project that distils Congressional Primary candidates and their values into pixelated sprites and stats. These pixel elements come in two forms: a web database for prospective voters and a card-based teaching tool for grade school students. Both aim to inform citizens about the candidates running for office, with the teaching tool providing extra resources which prompt students to analyze candidate statistics and perform mock debates.

The project was born from the reality that politics, in the eyes of many young Americans, is a tangled mess of corruption and immorality obfuscated by a cloud of complex jargon. In other words, it’s both unapproachable and undeserving of approach. Research reveals that young American political apathy often comes from the feeling that their actions don’t matter, or that the system is too big to wrap their heads around. The local nature of the Primaries thus made them the perfect focus. The Congressional Primaries occur every two years, deciding which candidates will represent their respective party in the General Election. The candidates running for the Primaries are often locals who see opportunities for change in their communities. However, the lack of voter focus on the Primaries often results in the incumbent career politicians retaking their seats year after year. By pixelating every candidate onto an even playing field, Pixel Primaries gives newcomers a voice and allows voters to find the representatives that truly align with their policy positions.