Why VOQAL Exists
The origin of VOQAL™ — June 1, 2026 — Prince George's County, Maryland
On June 1, 2026, Carlton A. James — a 20-year U.S. Navy veteran and IT facilitator at Largo High School in Prince George's County, Maryland — submitted a proposal to host a nonpartisan civic forum for students.
The forum would have brought local candidates from the June 23 Democratic Primary directly to students — giving young residents a chance to ask questions on the record before the election. The proposal was denied by Principal Albert Lewis.
That same week, VOQAL went live.
The 109 civic issues residents had already raised on the platform — infrastructure failures, unfunded education mandates, housing displacement, public safety gaps — became the public record the forum would have addressed. District by district. Candidate by candidate. On the record.
“If the institution won't create the space for civic accountability, we will build the platform ourselves.”
— Carlton A. James, Founder, VOQAL™
Prince George's County District 6 has a June 23 Democratic Primary with multiple candidates running for a seat that will shape education policy, public safety funding, and infrastructure investment for hundreds of thousands of residents. Early voting begins June 11.
Every one of those candidates has access to VOQAL. Every one of them can see exactly what District 6 residents are raising — publicly, permanently, on the record. The platform does not take sides. It holds the mirror.
VOQAL exists because civic accountability should not depend on institutional permission. A school can deny a forum. An elected body can table a resolution. A principal can decline a proposal. None of that changes what the community actually needs — and none of it removes the public's right to put those needs on the record.
Carlton A. James served 20 years in the United States Navy before transitioning to civilian service as a Talent Ready IT Facilitator at Largo High School in Prince George's County. He is the Founder and Chief AI Officer of 25 Alpha LLC, a service-disabled veteran technology company based in Largo, Maryland.
VOQAL is built and operated by 25 Alpha LLC. The platform runs on X.R.A.Y. — an autonomous AI infrastructure capable of serving 200,000 concurrent users and 500,000+ elected offices nationwide.
The record is open
The questions the forum would have asked are already on the public board. Every candidate can respond. The record will remain regardless of who wins.