By: Anna Brown, Citizens Count
At this point in the election season, you’ve seen hundreds of campaign advertisements in the mail, while scrolling Facebook, and during your favorite TV shows. These ads might help you remember a candidate’s name, but they don’t provide much substance beyond buzzwords. This guide will help you learn more about the candidates before you cast your ballot.
Find out who is running
The first question you need to answer is who, exactly, is on your ballot. It’s not uncommon for state representative races to include half a dozen or more candidates. This year’s presidential primary, meanwhile, includes 45 candidates!
In the lead-up to an election you can find sample ballots on the Secretary of State’s website (https://www.sos.nh.gov/elections/sample-ballots).
Citizens Count also lists who is running for state and federal offices on their Elections page (https://www.citizenscount.org/elections). Citizens Count is a New Hampshire nonprofit dedicated to providing unbiased information about issues and candidates.
For local elections, you can check your regional newspaper, visit your town website, or call up your local clerk.
Research the candidates
Once you have candidate names, you should evaluate the candidates as if they are applying to work for you. You may ask the following questions.
What education, life, or career experience do they bring to the table? You wouldn’t hire a web designer to fix your plumbing, and it follows that you want your elected officials to have some education and experience relevant to making laws. Of course, that doesn’t have to mean a law degree. That web designer might have the expertise to help write laws about technology, while the plumber might have ideas about streamlining the licensing process for tradespeople. Consider how a candidate’s background might inform their policy choices.
Where do they stand on issues you care about? If they held office, what bills did they vote on? Ideally you want to vote for a candidate who agrees with you on most topics; you may also be interested if a candidate agrees with you on what issues should be top priority. Those priority issues are likely where the candidate will spend most of their energy and influence.
Are they able to work with supporters to make policy changes? Or do they seem to spend more time posting on social media than working for the people? We won’t name anyone here, but you can probably come up with a few national folks who seem to do more tweeting than problem solving. Some analysts call this the “politics of performance.” A 30-second video clip may fire up voters and spread ideas, but results are arguably more important than rhetoric. If the candidate has ever served in office, look up what bills they sponsored, who signed on as co-sponsors, and if any of the bills passed. If the candidate has never held office, consider what causes they have worked with in the past. Also beware of any sweeping promises. Democracy was designed so that people in different offices have to work together; any one candidate should not promise to deliver the moon.
You can find a lot of this information by looking up candidate profiles on the Citizens Count website (https://www.citizenscount.org/elections).
The national nonprofit Vote Smart offers similar profiles for national candidates (https://justfacts.votesmart.org/).
Local and national newspapers may also publish candidate profiles leading up to an election.
You can always go straight to a candidate’s website or social media to find information on their campaign – although this information will be selective to show the candidate in the best light.
Debates are another opportunity to hear where a candidate stands on the issues, but with so many candidates fighting for microphone time this year, you’re likely to hear more soundbites and zingers than substance.
Lastly, as a New Hampshire resident you may have an opportunity to see a candidate speak in person at a town hall or forum. Campaign newsletters may alert supporters to these events. You can also check out popular locations, such as the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, for upcoming opportunities.
Evaluate the sources
Evaluating the information you find may seem like an obvious step, but fake news, misinformation, and propaganda are widespread these days; so be careful!
If you find an article about a candidate, keep in mind that the author might have a bias for or against the candidate. Check the sources cited in the article and look for signs that the content is a paid advertisement (it may be marked as such on social media).
You should also beware of oversimplified vote descriptions. Another candidate or organization may label an opponent as “for” or “against” an issue based on a single bill vote, but legislation is very complex. A candidate may have voted against a bill for nuanced reasons, such as a lack of a clear funding source, privacy concerns, or an amendment on a completely different topic.
Statements directly from a candidate, for example on a candidate’s website, may be less likely to be manipulated. However, candidates may use vague language to try to appeal to the broadest group of voters. Phrases like “I will put American voters first,” “every child deserves a quality education,” and even “I support our troops” sound nice but don’t really translate into issue positions. Try to find clear statements on what exact policies a candidate will support (or oppose).
Consider viability, but don’t be bullied over “throwing away your vote”
Democracy is built on groups of people being able to come together and form a majority. If a candidate fails to muster a large number of followers, donors, and media attention it’s fair to consider the candidate’s “viability,” basically their ability to win a democratic election.
However, as you make your final voting decision, remember your vote has impact whether or not your candidate wins. This is particularly true in the New Hampshire presidential primary, where a strong finish in second place or a weak finish in first can shape the future. For example, Bill Clinton successfully billed himself as “the Comeback Kid” after a strong second-place showing in New Hampshire in 1992. That same year, Republican Pat Buchanan came surprisingly close to beating incumbent George H. W. Bush in the primary. Bush’s narrow victory in New Hampshire planted seeds of doubt and emboldened opponents such as Ross Perot; Bush ultimately lost the general election.
These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative as part of its What to Expect When You’re Electing Series. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.