See other "FAQs".

We appreciate all questions that you have for us and built this list of Frequently Asked Questions (and those linked) from those we received. (To return to this list, use your Browser's "back" button.)

About Smart Voter

About the League of Women Voters

About Smart Voter

If I enter my address and zip code and you give me a ballot, does this mean that I am registered to vote?

No. Smart Voter does not know if you are registered to vote. Contact your county's elections office to verify your registration status.

In what order do you list the candidates for a contest?

The order of appearance for candidates in Smart Voter is random and changes daily. We feel that this is the most fair to all candidates. No one candidate is ever always at the top or always at the bottom of a list.

Why doesn't the order of candidates match my sample ballot?

The order or appearance in official printed ballots is randomly assigned, but is different for various groups of precincts within the same county. It is not practical to match the order assigned by election officials, and we feel that our method of random order, varied periodically, is the most fair to all candidates.

Why are some candidate names highlighted (linked) and others are not?

All candidates are listed on a personalized ballot, directory page or on a page for a given contest. If a candidate has accepted our invitation to provide information about themselves and their candidacy, a unique page is created for the candidate on the Smart Voter Web site. When that page is created, it is linked (and highlighted) from the appropriate lists of candidates. The League of Women Voters never supports or opposes candidates or political parties.

If you would like to help us convince candidates to use Smart Voter, please contact the candidates and tell them so.

Why don't you display information for all candidates for a given contest?

All candidates for fully-supported counties have been invited by letter to enter data into their Smart Voter web pages without cost to them. We have volunteers who call candidates and attempt to get them to take advantage of this method of getting information to the voters.

Some candidates still choose not to enter information about themselves and their candidacy.

If you would like to help us convince candidates to use Smart Voter, please contact the candidates and tell them so.

Why don't you provide ballot and contest information for my county?

We'd love to be able to! To fully support a county we need data from your local elections office to permit us to provide the ballot and polling place lookup.

Additionally, we operate on a shoestring budget and do not have the people power to support as many counties as we would like.

If you would like to help us, contact your local League of Women Voters (in California, see "LWV Offices in California").

What do you do with my address and zip code?

The Smart Voter system will not use street addresses for any purpose other than retrieving a customized ballot. The addresses will not be disclosed nor used in any analysis or report.

Smart Voter uses your street address and zip code in order to find your ballot and polling location.

Your address is used to determine the precinct, which, in turn, determines polling location and ballot type. Election officials have furnished the Smart Voter system with the street address ranges for precincts, and the corresponding polling place and ballot information. We do not currently have the ability to hold individual addresses or to check voter registration status.

If you believe that your street address and zip code should have produced a ballot, you can report this problem. We must have your street address and zip code to be able to determine if a problem exists and how to fix it. We do not use this information for any other purpose.

If I send you a feedback, what do you do with my email address?

We use email addresses to allow a Smart Voter project team member to respond to your feedback. We will not disclose your address to anyone except project team members for the purposes of responding to you.

Do you use "cookies"?

Only if you key in your address and zip code. We save this in a cookie to make it easier for you to return to your ballot page. We never use the cookie for any other purpose.

Where do you get the data that you publish on candidates?

Some basic information (name, occupation, contact information, e.g.) is provided by the appropriate elections official. All substantive candidate data has been provided by the candidates and neither the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund nor any of its partners in the Project take any responsibility for the form, content, accuracy or truthfulness of the information provided, which, as common carriers with respect to this data, we do not undertake to edit.

 

I keyed in my address and zip code, but you didn't find my ballot. Why not?

If you live in a participating county in California, New York, Ohio, or Pennsylvania, then be sure to send us a feedback reporting this problem. You will need to give us your street address and zip code for us to be able to diagnose the problem.

If you live in another county in California, New York, Ohio, or Pennsylvania, we do have information on the "upper ticket" contests and candidates for statewide elections, but not your local contests. File a problem report if your zip code was not recognized.

If you live in another state, key in your zip code or state postal code and we will return information about election information for your state. Zip code:

About the League of Women Voters

Does your organization give a recommendation for how to vote on ballot measures?

The League of Women Voters consists of two distinct organizations. One is a 501(c)(3) educational organization, never advocates, and operates on tax-deductible donations. This organization supports Smart Voter. The League's 501(c)(4) organization does advocate on issues and sometimes makes recommendations on ballot measures. Go to your State (California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania) or Local League websites to find these recommendations or contact your local League of Women Voters organization. Start with your Smart Voter county page to find your local League (key in your zip code ).

Does your organization give a recommendation for how to vote on candidates?

No. The League of Women Voters never supports or opposes any political party or any candidate.