Bernie Sanders has empowered the activist tech community in so many amazing ways. It has brought in new people into the conversation, encouraging young people into taking part in the political process. His firebrand progressive message has resonated to a lot of us, and his vision of an equitable society has galvanized innovators to stand up and contribute. His stand on not taking Super PAC money - which handicapped his run - has profoundly empowered engineers, designers, and project managers into donating their time and efforts in creating a huge number of applications that has accelerated Bernie’s campaign in ways that has revolutionized tech’s role in politics.

Volunteers have created mobilizing tools months before campaigns have invested on their digital efforts. Starting from May 2015, this amazing community has created a wide range of websites and apps that provide voting information (voteforbernie.org), volunteer event lookup (bernie2016events.org), and 80+ applications. This did something new and amazing in today’s politics: volunteer tech has been instrumental in mobilizing millions of people to make Bernie the democratic nominee.

But we must not stop there. There is more work to be done.

Various groups, from Political Revolution to A Brand New Congress, have started looking for candidates that reflect Bernie’s platform. These candidates will not rely on dark money, but will rely on grassroots efforts to help their candidacy. It is our duty, as the tech volunteers that  helped build Bernie’s movement, to continue helping these candidates.

The enthusiasm for Bernie’s message within the tech community is still very much alive. Ideas are continuously being discussed on the best ways to engage the public, voters, and volunteers. It is in our best interest to continue cultivating this culture of innovation and camaraderie within the community. Add to the fact that we have an amazing means of propagation of information through our social media and news partners.