A group of college students with ties to Houston County is hoping to make government easier to understand by giving Georgians a simpler way to find their elected officials, track how they vote and learn about the legislative process.

The students created Civic Duty, a free website that allows users to enter their address or ZIP code to identify their state representatives and view how those lawmakers have voted on legislation. Users can also search bills by topics such as education, health care, agriculture and public safety.

The founders said they built the platform after realizing many people struggle to find information about the officials who represent them or understand how government works.

"When I spoke to people, I found that while many of them could name their congressman, they couldn't name their state legislator. They couldn't name their board of commissioners, they couldn't name their county commissioners, they couldn't name their city councilors," co-founder Saif Aslam said. "A lot of people simply don't even know how the system works or even what the system is, even though they are the ones that are meant to participate in it actively on almost a daily and a yearly basis."

Read more at 13WMAZ.