This pigeon will make New York City vote like never before.

The #1 elections app in the App Store across Europe. “Palumba” is flying to capital city of pigeons in a mission to get out the vote ahead of November’s Mayoral Election.

What is Palumba?

Palumba is Europe's leading civic engagement platform. Through an engaging, nonpartisan platform, Palumba makes political complexity accessible and voting decisions informed.  

Palumba reached #1 in App Stores across multiple European countries during the 2024 EU Elections, engaged nearly 200,000 users, collected over 5 million individual responses, earned 100+ media mentions, and won 10+ awards including Google, UN World Summit Awards, Columbia University’s SIPA Challenge or the Innovation in Politics Award. 

How Palumba Works

Swipe, Learn, Match: Users express opinions on 25-30  policy statements by swiping left/right. Our transparent algorithm matches them with candidates who share their values while providing educational context for every issue.

Evidence-Based Content: Each policy question includes background information, fact-checking, and links to reliable sources. Each statement is verified by our Scientific Council of academic experts and by the mayoral campaign teams.

Social Virality: Built-in sharing features naturally spread civic engagement through social networks and hook the attention of users across generations to what matters.

What is Who’s on the Ballot?

Who's on the Ballot is a voter information platform that helps New York City residents prepare for elections. WOTB provides personalized ballot previews and polling location information based on their address. WOTB  makes  election information easily accessible, helps voters understand their choices before Election Day, and streamlines the voting process through location-specific electoral resources. WOTB is an initiative of Columbia SIPA.

The Partnership: Palumba x Who’s On the Ballot

For the November 2025 NYC Mayoral Election, Palumba NYC is partnering with Columbia SIPA's "Who's On The Ballot" to create a comprehensive digital voting companion for NY’s young voters.

WOTB will prominently feature a link to Palumba. Palumba will direct voters to WOTB . Jointly, the two initiatives will target a larger audience and maximize impact.

Why This Matters

Youth Disengagement Crisis: Only 13% of young voters participate in some European elections; NYC faces similar challenges. In the long term, studies show that voting in your first elections is decisive for future civic participation.

Information Overload: Complex ballot structures and candidate positions overwhelm first-time and occasional voters. The cognitive burden and learning curves are a barrier to engagement.

Proven Impact: Voting Advice Applications show measurable increases of as much as 4%  in election turnout when they’re widely used, and its effects have been proven to be significantly high in increasing political literacy  among typically disengaged demographics.