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Ballotpedia Launches Virtual Debate Platform: Candidate Conversations
Contact: Kristen Vonasek, Director of Communications
Tel: (608) 255-0688
E-mail: Media@ballotpedia.org
Providing a new way for voters to get to know their candidates
Middleton, Wis. - January 28, 2020: Ahead of the 2020 primary season, Ballotpedia and EnCiv are excited to announce the launch of Candidate Conversations, a new program to help voters get to know their candidates.
Candidate Conversations is an online platform that allows voters to see all their ballot-qualified candidates participate in a virtual conversation with the goal of letting voters get to know their candidates as people.
EnCiv is a nonprofit with a mission to improve society by improving democratic discourse. Ballotpedia and EnCiv previously worked together on improving the questions we ask candidates in our Candidate Connection survey by hosting discussion groups in Iowa and Chicago.
Ballotpedia and EnCiv began testing the Candidate Conversation platform in November 2019 after a year of talking to voters, candidates, and other nonprofits about how we can best help voters feel confident that the candidates they choose on their ballots are the ones that align with their values.
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The candidates in the first race to take advantage of this new platform were in the competitive four-person San Francisco district attorney's race that was held on November 5, 2019. That conversation can be viewed here.
“We are excited to provide this unique platform for candidates and voters to connect on a more personal level,” said Gwen Beattie, Ballotpedia’s Chief Operating Officer. “We believe that providing a conversational space for candidates to introduce themselves to voters will be another useful tool we can offer voters as they prepare for the polls in 2020.”
All candidates running for a federal and statewide election in 2020, in addition to those elections within the 100 most populated cities in the United States, will be invited to join the conversation for their race. Interested candidates should reach out to Ballotpedia at editor@ballotpedia.org for more information.
About Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia is the online encyclopedia of American politics and elections. Its goal is to preserve and expand knowledge about politics by providing objective information about local, state, and federal politics and policies. Its content includes trustworthy information, covering government officials and the offices they hold, political issues and public policy, elections, and candidates. Headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin, Ballotpedia was founded in 2006. It includes over 300,000 professionally authored encyclopedic articles that have garnered over 1 billion page views.
If you’d like more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Ballotpedia's Director of Communications at media@Ballotpedia.org.
