PROJECT VOTE SMART HEADQUARTERS (10/22/2012)—With two weeks to go until election day, Project Vote Smart has released a tool that lets voters find their perfect match in every U.S. Senate, House and Presidential race in the country.
VoteEasy, the award-winning, interactive tool found at votesmart.org, addresses 13 major issue areas including the economy, health care, and social security, and allows voters to simply answer a series of issue-related questions and watch as their responses determine which of the candidates best align with them.
“We've combined fun animated graphics of grassy green lawns, sound effects, and reactive campaign yard signs with the factual, unbiased information found at votesmart.org, so voters for the first time ever can compare and contrast their stances on the major issues facing the nation with those of the candidates,” said Darren McDivitt, Political Courage Test Director. “In many cases, voters are surprised to find out their best match is not who they thought it was, thanks to the tool's unique ability to do side-by-side comparisons.”
VoteEasy is powered by issue positions received directly from the candidates via the 2012 Political Courage Test, or, when candidates refuse to answer questions, by exhaustive research of each candidate’s public record.
Since 1992 Vote Smart has conducted the Political Courage Test, which each election year asks every presidential, congressional, gubernatorial and state legislative candidate in the country one question: “Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the issues you will most likely face on their behalf?” We then ask them to demonstrate their willingness by addressing a series of issue-related questions known to be at the top of the public's mind and also most likely to come up in the next legislative session.
VoteEasy is now available to voters in every state at votesmart.org. Citizens can also access Vote Smart's complete Voter's Self-Defense System, which includes each candidate’s voting record, public statements, biographical information, interest group ratings, campaign contributions, as well as their stated issue positions, through votesmart.org and over the toll-free Voter's Research Hotline, 1-888-VOTESMART.
About Project Vote Smart: Founded by national leaders such as Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, Vote Smart covers 40,000 candidates and elected officials, in addition to ballot propositions and voter registration information. Information and programs are free through www.votesmart.org, the Voter’s Research Hotline (1-888-VOTESMART), and the new VoteEasy tool. Vote Smart is funded entirely by foundation grants and individual contributions.
