When a user searches for a candidate or elected official on the Project Vote Smart website the first information they see is the candidate or official's biography. The biography page of a candidate or elected official is essentially a resume for the job for which they are applying, to be your representative in government.

This is made possible through the bios department. We are currently working to add or update the biographies of the president, vice president, cabinet, every single U.S. senator, U.S. representative, statewide official (governor, state attorney general, etc.), state senator, and state representative for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories. In total, we are working to add or update more than 40,000 biographies! Every biography entry contains information ranging from where the person went to school, past political experience, their contact information, and many other pieces of information that are far too many to fit in this one blog post.

Each intern and staff member in the department works hard everyday to complete this daunting task. In addition, we abide by the project's triple check rule, in which each biography, in addition to being added or updated, is then checked at least twice by an intern or staff member.

Since the start of summer we have completed all of Congress, most statewide officials, and a good portion of state legislators, president, vice president and cabinet. The department hopes to have the biographies of all these officials completed by the end of summer. We know it will take a great deal of time and effort to finish, but so did the founding of American democracy.

-Bryant Conkling (Beloit College, 2012, International Relations major, African Studies minor, from Cedar Rapids, IA), Bios Intern