Project Vote Smart

 
Vote Smart is a non-partisan, private project that helps us understand what our candidates and elected representatives actually do.

Often, career politicians say one thing, then do the opposite. Or they pretend to support something, knowing it can’t succeed. As your constituent, you can demand to know why, but the politician’s handbook says to change the subject, then get away quickly.

Vote Smart levels the playing field. Watch for the results of their Political Courage Test this Fall. It’s a questionnaire that all candidates and incumbents are sent, and answer to the best of their abilities. I’m looking forward to it, and our many conversations together on the 2012 campaign trail.

Everybody deserves a chance to Vote Smart

Fourscore and seven days from now, people across America will be standing in line, waiting to cast their votes for the next president of the United States. Unbeknownst to an unfortunate number of them, they’ll be voting for other people too. Representatives, Senators, Mayors, Aldermen.  Some will even be voting for things, like ballot measures and constitutional amendments.

You’re going to hear A LOT about the presidential contenders (though probably not all of them), but you might not hear about all the other stuff you’re going to be asked to decide on this November.And while we have A LOT of information about the presidential contenders (yes, all of them), we also have A LOT of information about all the other stuff.

So please use votesmart.org in the fourscore and seven days from now until November 6th, and even though you’re probably pretty well informed if you get these emails, your friends and family might not be (nothing personal). So please share this email with everyone you know who plans on voting, and tell them about all the cool stuff they can do at votesmart.org, like:

• Entering your address in our search bar to find out all your representatives in government, from state legislature up to president, AND who’s trying to replace them.
• Searching for ballot measures in your state so you can see what legislation you’re going to be asked to decide on directly.
• Using our award winning tool VoteEasy to match yourself with the candidates who share your views.

Regardless of who you (or your friends and family) vote for, everybody deserves a chance to Vote Smart.

We invite you to tell us which feature on votesmart.org you appreciate the most and why. Send your answers to membership@votesmart.org, and remember to include your name and mailing address.

The person with the best answer will receive some Vote Smart goodies!

If you appreciate what we do, please lend a hand by volunteering, interning or even by becoming a contributing member. Your support keeps our programs and resources free and accessible to all Americans.

Visit us: votesmart.org           Call us: 1-888-VOTESMART