About Build a Ballot

Build a Ballot is a non-partisan civic engagement tool designed by Project Planet to help Australians understand the political system and vote with confidence.

We started with a simple belief: most Australians care deeply about the future of this country. But too often, the political system feels confusing, overwhelming, or harder to navigate than it should be.

We created Build a Ballot to make it clearer.

How it began

Project Planet was co-founded by Lizzie Hedding and Tegan Lerm after connecting online during the 2019–20 bushfires. What began as two separate Instagram accounts sharing climate news quickly evolved into a shared mission: helping everyday Australians engage with climate action.

Ahead of the 2022 federal election, we built our first voting tool, Vote 1 Climate. It gave voters a simple way to compare climate policies in their electorate before heading to the polls. The response showed us something important: people weren’t disengaged — they just needed tools that made participation easier.

So we started planning something bigger.

Why Build a Ballot exists

Build a Ballot was created to help voters cut through political noise and feel confident about their choices.

The tool presents clear information about party and candidate positions across major issues and allows users to create a personalised voting plan based on what matters most to them. Climate might be your priority. Or it might be housing, cost of living, health, education or something else entirely.

Build a Ballot has no automatic recommendations: the ‘match score’ it calculates with candidates and parties is based entirely on which policies you— the user — support (or don’t!).

Whoever you ultimately vote for, we want to help Australians make more informed voting decisions. Because the big challenges that we’re facing as a country require an engaged electorate that's paying attention.

Built by community

For the first few years, Project Planet was entirely volunteer-run. Lizzie and Tegan worked on nights and weekends, funding the organisation through freelance work and supported by an incredible network of volunteers, advisors and policy experts.

In the lead-up to the 2025 federal election, thousands of Australians — most contributing donations under $50 — helped bring Build a Ballot to life at scale. Following a successful campaign, even more supporters came on board. That momentum allowed us to grow from a team of two to a team of four and significantly expand the time and capacity we can dedicate to this work.

We’re not backed by big corporations with hidden agendas. Build a Ballot is literally powered by thousands of everyday Australians who want what we want: a a democracy that actually works for people and the planet.

So, what’s next?

Federal elections aren’t the only place where important decisions are made. State governments shape the policies that impact daily life — from transport and housing to schools and hospitals — yet state politics remains widely misunderstood.

Over the next three years, we’re expanding Build a Ballot to state elections in:

• South Australia and Victoria in 2026
• New South Wales in 2027

Then we’ll return for the 2028 federal election. We’re excited to bring Build a Ballot to more Australians, helping people make more informed voting decisions and pushing our leaders to focus on policy — not slogans.