Since 1992, the Test has measured each candidate’s willingness to answer the voter’s questions on vital issues. VoteEasy, an easy-to-use tool on Vote Smart’s new user-friendly website, uses the results of the test to help voters find their perfect match.
“Seventy percent of today’s political advertising is used in attack ads, and few candidates are willing to expose themselves on issues that their pollsters have not stamped as ‘safe’,” said Adelaide Elm, Vote Smart board member, “but thanks to VoteEasy, voters have access to the information candidates don’t want them to know.”
By simply entering their zip code into VoteEasy, voters can instantly compare their own positions on twelve key issues to those of the congressional candidates who want their votes, in an entertaining, visual candidate-matching tool.
Additionally, voters seeking information on gubernatorial and legislative candidates can find their comprehensive profiles in Vote Smart’s new web-based tool called I SPY, which allows them to enter a candidate’s name and see everything from Political Courage Test results to top campaign contributions.
Vote Smart’s extensive research serves as the foundation for the Political Courage Test and VoteEasy, and fuels the tools that empower voters to vote smart.
Each candidate was contacted repetitiously by Vote Smart or its national partner, USA Today. Also available on votesmart.org is each candidate’s voting record, biography, ratings, speeches and political contributors.
About Vote Smart: An idea started by former Presidents Carter and Ford, along with 40 other national leaders from across the political spectrum, Vote Smart defends each citizen’s right to the facts about those who govern or those who wish to replace those who do. Vote Smart is funded entirely by individual contributions and foundation grants.
