How to decide who to vote for

My sample ballot arrived a few days ago, reminding me that ✨election season✨ is here!

Filling out my ballot in previous elections was generally straightforward. The years I spent participating in local politics made me well aware of the candidates and issues. With very little research, I could fill out my ballot in minutes; I knew who was leading progress on critical issues or standing in the way. But now, I’m in unfamiliar territory.

This election, I'm voting in a city I just moved to. I don’t recognize the candidates, know why they’re running for office/re-election, and haven't had the time to scope out the local political scene.

If you’re in a similar situation, figuring out who to vote for can be a bit daunting. It’s important to make an informed decision, but sometimes that requires extensive research, which you may not have the time or patience for. I listed five simple steps below to help you decide who to vote for!

Before we dig in, make sure you know:

1. Who/what you can vote for: Look up your sample ballot here. Your address and party affiliation will determine which races appear on your ballot.
2. Your main priorities: Have a clear idea of what you care about and what you want to see differently in your community, like better walking/biking infrastructure, more economic opportunities, less traffic, a neighborhood park and gathering center, cleaner water, etc. Your priorities will help you identify political candidates who want to address your concerns.
3. Key Election Dates
   • October 26 - November 2: Early voting period. Each county Supervisor of Elections may offer more days of early voting. Find your county's early voting schedule here.
   • November 5: Election Day, and your last opportunity to vote in the 2024 General Election. Find your polling location here.

Pull up your sample (or actual) ballot and pick a seat. As you go through these steps, take note of green, yellow, and red flags for each candidate. You'll take these into consideration once you're done gathering information.

Step 1: Go to the candidate’s website.

The easiest way to find a candidate’s campaign website is by searching for their candidate profile on Ballotpedia. If it’s accessible, it should be listed in the right sidebar, under “Contact”.

Use the candidate’s website to determine their platform and stances on critical issues. Take note of their past accomplishments and experiences. This will give you a clear understanding of their motivations, abilities, and what they can realistically achieve while in office.

For the candidate(s) challenging the incumbent: understand why they’re running. What issue or circumstance motivated them to jump into the race? Knowing this information may help you decide who to vote for.

Step 2: Review the candidate’s survey responses

Ballotpedia and Vote411 both distribute surveys to candidates, offering meaningful, reliable, and trustworthy information to voters. Analyze the candidates’ survey responses to better understand how they think and how they intend to govern.

• Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey: Search for the candidate’s survey responses on their Ballotpedia profile, under ‘Campaign Themes’. If they haven’t filled out the survey, it should say: “[candidate name] has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.”

• Vote411 Survey: Go to Vote411.org and enter your address. A Voter’s Guide should pop up, along with a list of races on your ballot. Click the race you’re currently researching. From here, you can view the candidates’ response to the survey, if they submitted one.

Step 3: Listen to or watch a debate/candidate forum for the race

I personally think the best way to decide who to vote for is by speaking one-on-one with the candidate. Through direct conversation, you can ask them your questions, learn their motivations, and get to know them on a deeper and more dynamic level. However, this is not an easy task, especially if the election is just days away. So instead, I recommend listening to and/or watching forums. You don’t have to watch every single forum or even the entirety of a forum, but listen to how the candidate responds to questions you find relevant and how they interact with their opposition.

Most local newspapers and political/civic organizations host their own candidate forums. For example, when I searched “Orange County Commission District 1 Orlando Debate” on Google, I found this informative forum hosted by the Orlando Sentinel, a local newspaper.

Step 4: Look at who’s funding the candidate

Most candidates rely on funds from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and political organizations to spread their message and reach voters. You may find value in combing through a candidate’s campaign contributions to see if any specific donors signal a green, yellow, or red flag.

• For local Florida races: your local Supervisor of Elections Office maintains campaign finance records. Sometimes the easiest way to find this information is through a Google search, such as "Orange County Florida campaign finance database". Through this search, I was able to find the Financial Reports for each candidate running for office in 2024 in Orange County, Florida. Select the candidate you’re most interested in and then click “List All Contributions and Expenditures” at the top left to get a list of donations.

• For state Florida races: The State of Florida publicly maintains a Campaign Finance database. You can use this database to obtain a list of the candidate’s donations.

Scroll through the donations or use the Search feature in your browser. Note who’s donating – everyday residents or entities with a political agenda? I personally find large, out-sized donations from developers, corporate interests (energy companies, property insurers, etc.), and politicians I don’t like to be a red flag.

When I was deciding who to vote for in the Orange County Commission District 1 Race, my final decision came down to the donors. I looked at the campaign contributions for one of the candidates and saw a sizable donation from the political action committee (PAC) of a politician that voted against allowing cities to establish a minimum wage and labor protections against extreme heat. For me, that donation signaled the candidate and politician had a strong enough relationship and made me concerned that the candidate would support similar, anti-labor and anti-worker rules in my County.

Step 5: Go and Vote!

At this point, you should have enough information to choose the candidate that best aligns with your values and priorities. There’s no such thing as the perfect candidate (or person), so make your choice based on who satisfies the majority of your requirements.

I view voting as a tool to place proactive, competent leaders in seats of power to progress our communities and solve problems, like rising unaffordability, inadequate public infrastructure and recurrent violent crime. I hope you vote this cycle and get involved in improving your local community!

You can repeat Steps 1-4 for any other races where you’re still undecided.

If you’re still undecided, there are a few more steps you can take:

Step 6: Look at the candidate's vote record.

If the candidate is currently serving, you can evaluate their vote record to help decide if they deserve to maintain their seat. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, this isn’t easy to do! There's no comprehensive database that stores this information.

But if you live in Florida, and know the bill you’re looking for (i.e. HB 433 Employment Regulations), you can use the State’s website to find out how a State Legislator voted on a bill by looking through the bill’s vote history, but this isn’t a simple or intuitive process.

My husband and I are currently building a better tool to find a politician’s vote record. It’s still a work-in-progress, but you can navigate to the Legislator’s profile and search for their vote on any bill under the “Votes” tab. A similar tool does not exist for the local level.

Step 7: Ask for recommendations

Friends, organizations, and your local newspapers are sources of information! These sources can provide some insight you might not be able to find online or share a perspective you haven't considered. Your local League of Women Voters and political party usually publishes an Elections Voter Guide containing a list of recommendations for races (and ballot amendments). Your local newspaper may also share recommendations, through the form of candidate endorsements.

Step 8: Read the candidate's personal statement.

You can find these statements in your local newspaper. Sometimes, these statements recycle information already on the candidate's website, but not always. You may find some helpful, additional information in these statements.

There are a million other data points you can gather and consider while deciding who to vote for, but don't drive yourself crazy! The resources I listed above should be enough to make a decision in a timely manner.