In this era of YouTube and Hulu, it's about time that the old voting pamphlet gets a bit of a high-tech twist. Beginning later this month, voters in five rural counties in Washington state will be able to access video messages from political candidates discussing issues and their political views.

The technology is being developed by Issaquah-based Democracy Live, which has received a grant to work with students at local colleges to help politicians craft the short video messages. The videos will appear on the county election board's Web sites.

"The objective of the Democracy Live Video Voter Guide is to offer voters a chance to watch and listen to every candidate appearing on their ballot, regardless of money or resources," said Bryan Finney, executive director of Democracy Live.  "By putting candidates on an equal playing field, allowing voters to click, listen and watch the candidates appearing on their ballot, it will be ideas that matters most, not money."

Finney said the idea is to allow voters to compare and contrast local candidates, including judges and county officials, who may not be well known.

"Hopefully (it) will reduce the impact of simply having more yard signs than the other guy, or more newspaper endorsements," he said.

The participating counties include Kitsap, Grant, Pacific, Pend Oreille and Walla Walla, with Finney noting that the company is in discussions with King County and other counties in the state. 

Finney describes the company as a "non-partisan technology firm" funded by local angel investors on both sides of the political aisle. Voters will be able to see the messages -- funded through a grant from Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed -- on the Web sites beginning July 20.

John Cook is co-founder of TechFlash. Follow him on Twitter @johnhcook.