AWS Public Sector Blog

Elections and sustainable trucking: The Fix This podcast March round up

In March, the Fix This podcast focused on how the cloud is used to help improve voter engagement and elections processes and how machine learning helps to power sustainable trucking.

All episodes are available for streaming and download on Apple PodcastsGoogle PlaySpotifyStitcherTuneInOvercastiHeartRadio, and via RSS.

Episode nine features interviews with Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan for the State of New Hampshire (NH), Trisha Bandstra, sales director of KNOWiNK, and Rob Rock, director of elections for Rhode Island (RI). Episode ten features interviews with Aaron Terrazas, director of economic research at Convoy Inc. (Convoy) and Jennifer Wong, head of sustainability marketing at Convoy.

Elections are more than casting votes

Fix This podcast episode 9 "More than voting"Elections involve much more than casting and tallying votes.

From voter engagement to elections management, innovative use of the cloud, such as an Alexa skill or e-poll book solutions can help make election processes and information more accessible. We took a closer look on the podcast.

From New Hampshire and Rhode Island, we heard firsthand how states are integrating technology into their elections processes. Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan for the State of NH shared why this year was cause for celebration. In 2020, New Hampshire celebrated its 100th year as the first-in-the-nation primary in the United States. Deputy Secretary Scanlan discussed how NH’s new Alexa skill makes information such as how, when, and where to vote available to NH’s constituents in voice format.

Listen to Fix This episode #09, “More than voting…”:

Trisha Bandstra joined the podcast to discuss how the organization’s e-poll books solution helps to make elections processes more efficient. One state using KNOWiNK’s e-poll books is RI. We sat down with Rob Rock of RI to learn about how e-poll books are used across the state and the benefits for the state’s voters. Listen to the Fix This podcast episode #09 – “More than voting…”

Sustainability in the world of trucking

From getting information to getting goods in our day-to-day life, technology has changed the way the world shares and receives the things we need.

In episode ten, we learned how sustainability, machine learning, and trucking intersect in Convoy’s digital freight network. To reduce carbon emissions, improve truckers’ lives, and work towards its mission of zero waste trucking, Convoy uses Amazon SageMaker.

Listen to Fix This episode #10, “Zero waste trucking”:

Aaron Terrazas discusses the environmental, worker, and industry impacts of trucks driving “empty miles,” and how Convoy uses machine learning to connect empty trucks with their next load to improve efficiency. Jennifer Wong walked us through what zero waste actually means, how freight delivery can become more sustainable, and how other companies can benefit from Convoy’s sustainable approach to trucking. Listen to the Fix This podcast episode #10 – “Zero waste trucking.”


Stay tuned for more bi-weekly episodes of Fix This by subscribing on Apple PodcastsGoogle PlaySpotifyStitcherTuneInOvercastiHeartRadio, and via RSS.

Read the February and January Fix This podcast round ups. Learn more about election administration and voter engagement, Convoy, and machine learning on AWS.