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What we never do

Plain Ballot shows how each race on your ballot lines up with the issues you chose. These rules hold for every race, every candidate and every party.

• We never endorse. No candidate, party or measure is recommended. The ballot shows fit with your own settings, not our view.
• We never tell anyone how to vote. A close fit is a starting point for your own reading, not advice. Every match shows the reason and what would change it.
• We never guess from party or identity. Positions are never filled in from a party label, an endorsement, who someone is, or what similar people believe. Party labels stay hidden until you ask.
• We never publish a claim without a checked quote. Every position has an exact quote, fetched from its source and found there word for word. If we can’t find one, the issue is left blank, and a blank never counts against anyone.
• We never use AI to pick your matches. Matching is plain arithmetic in your browser. The same settings always give the same ballot.
• We never slant the wording. Each end of a dial is worded the way its own supporters would say it. Claims say what someone did or said, without praise or criticism.
• We never keep your address or your choices. See Privacy.
• We never hide a correction. Anyone can report a claim with “Not right?”. Reports and fixes are public at Open Election Data.

How the research and checks work: How it works. What changed and when: Release log.