Eight Quality Benchmarks for a Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
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Sample ballot lookup tools (SBLT) are services that provide voters with a preview of the offices, candidates, and ballot questions that will appear on their ballot when they go to vote. These tools, which can be produced by state and local governments as well as private organizations, can take different forms. For example, some require a voter to enter his or her address or voter registration information in order to generate a sample ballot tailored to his or her specific location. Others list a variety of sample ballots by location and require the user to select the applicable ballot.
In the months before a November election, many organizations will publish sample ballots with varying amounts and quality of information. Here is Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup Tool.
Here are eight quality benchmarks for a sample ballot lookup tool:
1.) Data accuracy
Does the SBLT have accurate election dates, office names, candidate names, incumbency statuses, and partisan affiliations?
2.) Precision of location
Are users given the correct sample ballot for their address? Are all offices shown on the sample ballot relevant for the user? If not, does the sample ballot provide a disclaimer explaining that?
3.) Quality assurance
Does the organization that supplies the SBLT follow internal auditing practices to ensure accuracy? Specifically, do they check the accuracy of:
- Election dates
- Office names
- Who is running
- Candidate names
- Incumbency status
- Partisan affiliation
Additionally:
- Do they compare the results of their lookup tool to official government candidate lists for those jurisdictions that make candidate lists available?
- Do they provide information to users or potential users of their lookup tool about whether they audit and what they audit for?
- Do they make the results of their internal audits available to the public? (If you would like a copy of Ballotpedia's self-assessment, please email us.)
4.) Clarity of scope
Does the organization that provides the sample ballot make it apparent to a user where the sample ballot’s coverage starts and ends in terms of offices and election dates covered?
- If the SBLT covers some, but not all, states and municipalities, is this made known to the user?
- If the SBLT covers some, but not all, contests that the user will find on their actual ballot when they go to vote, is this made known to the user?
- If the SBLT covers some, but not all, election dates that are relevant to a user, is this made known to the user?
5.) Depth of information
Does the SBLT include biographical or campaign-related information about the candidates on the ballot? Or does it only provide a simple list of names?
6.) Length of availability
How far in advance of an election does the organization make its sample ballot available?
7.) Source transparency
Does the organization provide an explanation to its users of where the data in the sample ballot originated?
8.) Transparency about user data
Does the organization providing the sample ballot provide clear and accurate information to any potential users of the ballot about whether and how any information gleaned about them from their use of the SBLT will be compiled, used, transferred, or sold?
Other desirable features
Portability
Does the organization allow users to print, email, or otherwise share their sample ballot?
User interaction
Does the organization provide users with the means to contact the organization if they believe there is an error with the sample ballot? Does the organization help inform users how to vote?
See also
Sample ballot lookup tools
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