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Sample Ballot Frequently Asked Questions
Thank you for preparing to vote with Ballotpedia, the encyclopedia of American politics. We appreciate you taking the time to troubleshoot your issue and help us improve this free resource for U.S. voters.
If you're having issues, please review the questions below to see if they match your issue.
- How does the Sample Ballot Lookup work?
The Sample Ballot Lookup Tool allows voters to enter their address and pull up information about the elections, candidates, and ballot measures on their official ballot. The sample ballot includes all federal and statewide candidates running in primaries and general elections across the U.S., all state ballot measures, as well as comprehensive local elections coverage for the top 100 cities by population, along with an ever increasing coverage of local elections across our country. The sample ballot also allows users to quickly learn about elections and key policy issues within the application or click through to Ballotpedia’s full repository of encyclopedic content.
- How do I use the Sample Ballot Lookup Tool?
- First, enter your address to get a list of upcoming election dates.
- If there are multiple election dates, select the date that you would like more information about.
- Decide how detailed you'd like the information presented to be. Your options are Concise or Detailed.
- Hit the green 'Go' button to view your sample ballot.
- Scroll up and down to view the offices and measures on your ballot.
- Select an office to see the candidates, or a ballot measure to see arguments for and against.
- Select the star next to a candidate, or the “yes” or “no” on a ballot measure screen, to save an option as a favorite.
- Tap the menu in the upper right to change your address, take notes, or print your sample ballot.
- An FAQ is accessible through the menu, where you can get more information on using the tool, term definitions and topic explainers.
This sample ballot is a window to the wonderful and vast Ballotpedia encyclopedia. You can use it to help you make informed, confident decisions when you vote.
- What is the Notepad used for?
You can use the notepad feature to type/write your own personal notes that you can refer to at any time. You could use the notes for reminders, such as "do more research on this topic." You can use notes to keep track of important ideas and topics, or use them as bookmarks for links to information on Ballotpedia.
- Can I save my favorite selections and notes?
- When you make an initial favorite selection, you will be given the option to save your choices and notes so you can return to them later.
- If you choose yes, an anonymous token link will be created that will be associated with your selections and any notes you have made.
- You can choose to copy, email or text the token/link. This will allow you to save and later quickly retrieve your favorites and notes.
- You can choose no, and your favorite selections and notes will not be saved.
- If you change your mind, you can access this option through the menu.
- How is my information used?
When you enter your address, the Sample Ballot Lookup Tool pinpoints your location to determine what election districts you live in. That is how it knows what election information to show you. We do not save any personal data about you. All data is saved anonymously. None of your favorite selections or notes are saved in any way that can be associated with you or with any of your personal information.
- How can candidates provide more information?
Candidate profile looking sparse? If you are a candidate, head to ballotpedia.org/survey to submit information! If you are a voter and would like to encourage candidates to provide more information, you can visit their Ballotpedia profiles for direct links to email or tweet at them, or feel free to share the link ballotpedia.org/survey with them any other way you like!
- Why aren't the presidential candidates appearing?
Prior to the national convention for each political party, Ballotpedia's sample ballot includes presidential candidates based on the candidate list from each state's election office for the primary or convention.
Following the national convention for each political party, Ballotpedia's sample ballot includes the party's presidential nominee in all states where that party has made the general election ballot. For minor parties, we must wait for the release of each state's official candidate list to confirm that they made it on to the ballot in that state.
Ballotpedia's sample ballot includes independent candidates for president in all states where that candidate has made the ballot. It does not include write-in candidates for president.
- Why are your ballot measure titles different from my ballot?
Ballotpedia does include the short name or official title of each ballot measure, but we also write original descriptive titles in order to avoid redundancy and bias. Click here to read about Ballotpedia's approach to titling ballot measures.
- Why are your candidate lists changing?
In many elections, not all candidates are required to file to run by the same deadline. For example, candidates who want to run as an independent or write-in may have a later filing deadline than a candidate running for a political party's nomination. Additionally, someone may initially be included in the election office's candidate list but later removed due to their withdrawal or disqualification. Ballotpedia monitors candidate lists for changes until they are finalized by the election office.
- Why is your ballot order different from my ballot?
States and localities use a range of different approaches to set the ballot order for candidates. Click here to read about Ballotpedia's standard ordering method.
- Why are different people listed as incumbents on my ballot?
States and localities use a range of different approaches to determining incumbency. Ballotpedia defines incumbency based on chamber and current occupancy. This means that if someone is a current officeholder within a chamber, such as the U.S. House of Representatives, they will still be considered an incumbent if they run for a different seat in that same chamber. Also, if an officeholder is running to retain their office, we will consider them an incumbent regardless of whether they were first elected to that position or appointed. Click here to read about Ballotpedia's approach to incumbency.
- Are canceled primaries included in the sample ballot?
If an election has been canceled and will not appear on actual ballots, Ballotpedia will also exclude it from our sample ballot.
- I am not seeing my local elections. Why aren't you covering every election?
Ballotpedia is a nonprofit organization with a small but dedicated staff working to gather information about candidates and elections. Election information is not published in a timely manner for many local offices, which makes it infeasible to gather the necessary data given our limited resources. We currently have the resources to cover all federal elections, all state-level elections, and all local elections taking place within the nation's 100 largest cities, while continually expanding our local level coverage. In 2022, this included coverage of nearly 40,000 candidates. There are more than 500,000 elected officials in the United States, and we hope one day to cover them all. If you would like to help us reach that goal, click here.
- I entered my full address but my Sample Ballot isn't loading.
If your Sample Ballot will not load, check that you entered your full address. If that does not work please refresh the page. Finally, if those steps do not resolve the issue please fill out this form [insert link to contact us page] to let us know about the problem.
- I am seeing the wrong county or district on my Sample Ballot.
This can happen if you live near the border between two districts. While Ballotpedia aims to use the most detailed, accurate maps available (including those from the U.S. Census and other official sources), sometimes the district boundaries may be imperfect.
The other situation is that the address itself is not properly located, which can sometimes be the case if it is a more unique address format.
In either case, we recommend using a nearby address, such as your neighbor's, though note that they may live in some different political districts.
- I entered my full address but the map has me in the wrong location.
Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot uses a geocoding service from Amazon, so if Amazon cannot locate your address correctly, it will not display properly in your Ballotpedia Sample Ballot either. If this happens, we recommend choosing a nearby address and entering that instead. When in doubt, you can always use your state or local election office's website to find the official sample ballot.
- I am seeing multiple local districts for the same office when I am only voting for one.
In some cases, we're unable to locate the maps for local districts. In these cases, Ballotpedia will show you all local races in your county even if you may just be voting in one. If you're not sure which local district you will be voting in,you can always use your state or local election office's website to find the official sample ballot.
- Where does this information come from?
Ballotpedia sources election information for your Sample Ballot through direct outreach to federal, state, and local election offices in addition to referencing official government websites.
- I found an error on my Sample Ballot. How can I report that?
If you notice an error in your Sample Ballot—such as a missing candidate— please fill out this form to notify us.
- I have another question that is not listed on this page.
If you have a question that is not answered on this page, please contact us here.
- What happens when I provide my email?
Email addresses are not required to use the Sample Ballot Lookup Tool. If you decide to provide your email address, Ballotpedia will send you email updates on a variety of political topics. You will quickly be welcomed and invited to adjust your preferences so that you receive only the information that interests you. You are free to unsubscribe at any time. Your information is safe with us. We do not share or sell email addresses with anyone else. See also: Ballotpedia Email Updates.
- What issues and topics can I learn about within the tool?
When researching a candidate in the Candidate View, a blue icon will indicate keywords or phrases that users can click to learn more about. Selecting the icon will pull up an FAQ page with information relevant to the keyword or phrase. These keywords include everything from election-related terminology to précis of contemporary policy and political issues (like education, abortion, ESG, and so forth).
