Our History
Ballotpedia is the Encyclopedia of American Politics and Policy. Since our founding in 2007, we've created 637,627 articles, received many millions of page views, and cultivated a tireless and dedicated staff. Ballotpedia has come a long way since our start in Madison, Wisconsin.
How did we get here?
The genesis of the idea that would grow into Ballotpedia was born out of a personal endeavor of Leslie Graves. As a Wisconsin resident active in civic life, Leslie wanted more information on local government procedures and activities, but her FOIA requests went ignored.
Leslie's friends and family suggested that she create a resource devoted to helping citizens navigate the laws surrounding government transparency. If she had encountered so many roadblocks, perhaps other citizens had faced similar obstacles. In December 2006, the Lucy Burns Institute (LBI) was incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the goal of connecting people to politics.
In early 2007, LBI launched WikiFOIA, a collaborative, crowd-sourced website geared toward increasing understanding of state-level FOIA laws. The goal of WikiFOIA was to harness local knowledge in an effort to empower citizens seeking information from governmental entities. It was clear from the success of WikiFOIA that there was a demand for efficient and straightforward information about political processes.
Seeking to fill this need, the Lucy Burns Institute started two more online platforms. Ballotpedia was dedicated to sharing information about (a) statewide and local ballot measures and the laws governing them, and (b) state and local recall elections and the laws governing them. Judgepedia provided information on federal and state court judges, judicial appointments and elections, the intricate laws governing judicial selection, and state court judicial administration.
Both Ballotpedia and Judgepedia had the same mission—to educate people about politics—so in March 2015, LBI merged its two flagship websites. All pages on Judgepedia were transferred to Ballotpedia in order to provide readers with a more fluid, user-friendly experience (Press release: Ballotpedia to absorb Judgepedia).
Over time, Ballotpedia expanded far beyond ballot measures and became known as an essential source for detailed, nonpartisan content on
- elected representatives
- candidates
- elections at all levels of government
- official appointments
- initiatives and referendums
Our flagship tools are the Sample Ballot Lookup Tool and our Candidate Connection survey, a tool for candidates to speak directly to voters about why they are running and how they intend to govern. Going forward, we aim to substantially expand the capacity and reach of these tools.
Where are we going?
We intend to keep building, and our database continues to grow. We seek to inform Americans about over 580,000 elected officials nationwide and the candidates for each office, filling the ballot information gap that grows wider the more local the election. If we are successful in our mission, we will be meeting voters needs in a way they haven’t been met before. Our vision is of a future in which any voter in the United States can search their address and find a comprehensive list of candidates for, say, their local school board—with meaningful information about each candidate—and feel confident about their choice at the polls.
