How to evaluate local candidates
The answer
Evaluating a local candidate means using a nonpartisan voter guide to see who's actually on your ballot, then checking a short, consistent set of things: their answers to a candidate questionnaire, whether they show up to public forums, and, for incumbents, their actual voting or attendance record. Down-ballot races get skipped by voters overwhelmingly because of a lack of information, not a lack of interest, about 79% of voters who skip down-ballot races say they simply don't know enough to choose.1 The honest, high-leverage move is doing 15-20 minutes of research before you'd otherwise skip the race.
Before you go
- Get your personalized ballot first. Vote411.org (League of Women Voters)2 and BallotReady both let you enter your address and see every candidate on your specific ballot, not just the high-profile ones.
- Know that these tools' coverage still has limits. BallotReady covers about 88% of the population as of 2024, concentrated in counties over 50,000.3 Very small towns may not be covered and require going to the county clerk directly.
- If evaluating an incumbent, know that local campaign-finance and voting-attendance records are filed locally (county clerk, city clerk) rather than in one national database, unlike federal races.
The mechanics
- Enter your address into Vote411.org or BallotReady to get your full, personalized ballot.
- For each candidate, read their responses to the nonpartisan questionnaire (Vote411's League-drafted questions, or BallotReady's aggregated bio/issue-stance info with linked sources).
- Check whether a local candidate forum has been or will be held, commonly hosted by a League of Women Voters chapter, PTA, or local civic group, and look for a recording or write-up if you can't attend live.
- For incumbents specifically, check their public meeting attendance and voting record, available through the city or county clerk's published minutes or agenda archive, rather than relying on campaign claims alone.
- If money in the race matters to you, check the county or city clerk's campaign-finance filings directly. National tools like FollowTheMoney.org or OpenSecrets have only limited coverage of genuinely local races.
- Cross-reference with a local newspaper's voter guide if one exists. Nonprofit newsrooms are barred by IRS rules from endorsing but can still publish candidate-questionnaire responses.
What to ask
This is a research task, not an outreach task. If you're helping someone else evaluate candidates, share the specific tool and a specific question rather than a generic "go research the candidates."
Here's your ballot on Vote411: [link].
Do any of these school board answers concern or interest you?
A few questions worth checking for any local candidate: Have they attended the relevant public meetings as an incumbent? What specific action would they take on the top issue in this race? Who has funded their campaign, per the county or city filing?
What happens next
Once you've reviewed your ballot, the natural next step is voting it fully rather than stopping at the top of the ticket, since most down-ballot skipping is a knowledge gap, not disinterest, and closing that gap takes about 15-20 minutes with these tools.
Does it work
Yes: a large battleground-state survey (n=5,101 across Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin) found 79% of down-ballot roll-off voters cite not knowing enough, and only 32% of roll-off voters could correctly identify what a state legislator does, versus 50% of all voters.1 See is your primary vote worth more for why down-ballot races often carry outsized weight.
Take action
Tool coverage (Vote411, BallotReady) is strongest in larger counties and cities. Very small jurisdictions may require going directly to the county clerk. Local campaign-finance disclosure requirements and where they're filed vary by state. Use the ZIP lookup to find your local disclosure office and clerk.