Ballotpedia:Legitimacy of Andrew Walz 2020 election candidacy and Ballotpedia profile
By Ballotpedia editorial staff
February 27, 2020 (Updated April 28, 2020)
April 28, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
This was the final coverage methodology article originally planned for publication in response to the Andrew Walz hoax candidacy. Although Ballotpedia will continue to publish articles explaining its internal policies, they may not be listed on this page. Click here for a current list of Ballotpedia's coverage methodology and policy articles.
April 27, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
April 19, 2020
Ballotpedia published two more of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
- Our methodology on original summaries of ballot measures
- Our methodology on media editorial endorsements in support of or opposition to ballot measures
April 17, 2020
The 45-day window closed for people to come into compliance with our new candidate definition policy. For the 47 people who were still not in compliance as of this date, Ballotpedia took one of two actions:
- If the person had a Ballotpedia profile prior to their 2020 declared candidacy due to a previous electoral run or office held, their profile was updated to remove the 2020 election information. This was done for 21 people.
- If the person's Ballotpedia profile only contained 2020 election information, their profile was removed. This was done for 26 people.
Prior to this point, Ballotpedia had contacted every person for whom we were able to locate contact information in order to explain the policy and how to comply with it. Any person who had their Ballotpedia profile affected on this date can still have it restored if they do come into compliance with the policy. They can do this by either appearing on a candidate list published by a government election agency or by registering with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline.
Ballotpedia also published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
April 10, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 30, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 26, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 23, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 20, 2020
Ballotpedia published The Andrew Walz hoax candidacy, a statement and overview from Ballotpedia's CEO, Leslie Graves.
Ballotpedia also published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 19, 2020
Ballotpedia published two more of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 18, 2020
Ballotpedia contacted 123 federal and state candidates in our coverage who did not comply with our new candidate definition policy. This email explained the new policy and requested that the candidates provide Ballotpedia with their federal or state campaign finance information by April 16, 2020, in order to remain on Ballotpedia.org.
The email also included links to the following two new policy articles intended to help the candidates locate this information: How we research for proof of official candidacy and FAQs.
March 13, 2020
Ballotpedia published two more of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 12, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
Ballotpedia also published an update to an existing policy article:
March 11, 2020
Ballotpedia published two more of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
Ballotpedia also published an update to an existing policy article:
March 10, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 8, 2020
Ballotpedia published an update to our new candidate definition policy. This update explained how Ballotpedia would handle complicated or uncommon cases that may not fit cleanly within this definition of candidacy. Here are the cases covered in the expanded policy:
- Noteworthy candidates
- Personal filings vs. committee filings
- Write-in candidates
- Satirical but legitimate candidates
- Candidates who have not disclosed their legal name
- People with uncommon legal names
- Illegitimate candidates
March 4, 2020
Ballotpedia published another of our new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public:
March 3, 2020
Ballotpedia contacted 64 federal candidates in our coverage who did not comply with our new candidate definition policy. This email explained the new policy and requested that the candidates provide Ballotpedia with their FEC ID number by April 16, 2020, in order to remain on Ballotpedia.org.
Ballotpedia also began publishing a new series of policy articles explaining our coverage methodologies to the public. Here were the first articles published:
March 1, 2020
Ballotpedia identified 515 state candidates in our coverage who did not comply with our new candidate definition policy. Out of the 515, Ballotpedia was eventually able to locate proof of official candidacy for 417. We added a note to the profiles of the remaining 98 candidates and began gathering contact information for them in order to contact them about the new policy.
February 29, 2020
Ballotpedia identified 139 federal candidates in our coverage who did not comply with our new candidate definition policy. Out of the 139, Ballotpedia was eventually able to locate an FEC ID for 75. We added a note to the profiles of the remaining 64 candidates and began gathering contact information for them in order to contact them about the new policy.
That note reads as follows:
Note: Ballotpedia is reviewing this profile to determine whether the person is an official candidate. This profile will be taken down on April 17, 2020, if this person has not yet registered with the Federal Election Commission or appeared on an official candidate list by that time. If this profile contains content about prior electoral campaigns involving this person, only their 2020 election content will be removed. Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's definition of candidacy.
February 28, 2020
A CNN article published on February 28, 2020, verified that the candidacy of Walz was fraudulently submitted to Ballotpedia.
On February 28, 2020, Ballotpedia removed the Walz entry from our database and replaced the profile with an explanatory disclaimer. Ballotpedia also published a new candidate definition policy stating that official candidates are people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on official candidate lists released by government election agencies after the candidate filing deadline (this may require gathering petition signatures and paying a filing fee)
February 27, 2020
On February 27, 2020, a reporter emailed Ballotpedia to say that he had been approached by an individual who had previously submitted a candidate declaration to Ballotpedia. The individual told the reporter that he was not a real candidate. He expressed concern to the reporter that election integrity was at stake, because Ballotpedia.org included his name in its lists of candidates for the office in question.
The individual in question, when submitting his candidacy declaration to Ballotpedia.org on December 21, 2019, gave his name as Andrew Walz. He submitted a candidate survey, a campaign website, and campaign social media profiles he had made on Facebook and Twitter. He stated that he was a candidate for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District.
As per its guidelines for providing information about declared candidates, Ballotpedia.org then built a short profile (Andrew Walz) and included his name in its list of candidates for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District.
In the future, we want to avoid situations where we include names in our lists of candidates of individuals who, for whatever reason, are falsely claiming to Ballotpedia that they are running for office.
Under our new policy, which went into effect on February 28, 2020, we will require federal candidates to have an FEC ID # before we will include them in our lists of federal candidates. For the 2020 cycle, the FEC requires that federal candidates register with it once a candidate has passed the threshold of $5,000 of financial activity. Candidates, however, are allowed to register with the FEC and obtain an FEC ID # prior to reaching that threshold.
Note that many individuals who file candidacies with the FEC do not go on to successfully qualify for ballot access in their state. It is only once a candidate has met all state-level requirements for ballot access that the candidate becomes officially ballot-qualified. This determination is made separately in each of the 50 states, which each have their own ballot-qualification requirements. Once the state has officially determined who has qualified for its ballot, Ballotpedia pares down its list of declared and FEC-filed candidates to include only those who have officially qualified for the ballot.
