Mission & Core Values

Core to the mission at BallotReady is to use our resources and knowledge to best serve the constituents of our democracy however we can. Every product we build, every meeting we take, and every partnership we pursue is grounded in the goal of enabling more Americans to participate in the democratic process and get informed on the basics of local government. As we aim to grow as a company, we do so focused on reaching more constituents, covering more local elections, and bringing more transparency to our government for all Americans.

In order to put constituents fist, we are absolutely committed to the value of nonpartisanship both in the experience of using our tools, and the process for gathering the underlying research. All the information we provide is gathered from publicly available sources including thousands of local election offices from across the country and thousands of candidate websites. Our users and customers alike rely on us for nonpartisan information and expertise. We do not editorialize or set political goals– instead, we strive to provide coverage for as many people as possible regardless of geography or partisan affiliation.

We also believe strongly that many of the gaps in our democracy are not exclusively partisan issues. For example, most local elections have an average voter turnout as low as 12-15%, and most candidates run uncontested for local positions. The scale of these problems require shared, nonpartisan efforts. Our goal is to help inform Americans on the basics of voting and local government so that they can participate and better advocate for themselves.

At BallotReady, we take 100% responsibility (no more and no less), for the information we provide and the products we offer.

Take it from us, democracy and local elections are extremely complex. There are over 3000 counties in the U.S., all of which organize and administer elections every year according to their own rules and systems. The experience of a voter in Alaska can be almost entirely different from a voter in South Carolina. From special elections to special districts to rank choice voting, the number of edge cases we address to better serve constituents each cycle is innumerable. It’s a gargantuan task, but Americans deserve one place where they can access all the information they need to make sense of our government.

While we accept that there are significant limitations in making that happen, we are confident that we offer the most accurate and comprehensive civic resource available. As we continue to add millions of new users each year, we see it as our responsibility to offer the best experience possible, and to continue to make improvements wherever needed.

Let’s face it– election season can be stressful, exhausting and divisive. Getting involved in local government and advocacy can be confusing and difficult. These realities weigh on the American people and lend themselves to lower participation and enthusiasm.

That’s why it’s so important to us to give democracy a new face and insert joy, love and trust in the process. We will always be there for both our users and customers to better understand your goals, address your concerns, and do our best to meet more people where they are regardless of background or politics. We will never offer negativity as motivator- instead, we strive to give all users a moment of clarity and relief when using our tools.

The same priority goes for our company internally– we understand fully that only by prioritizing wellness and inclusivity among our staff can we hope to do the same for our users.

In addition to being a data company, we are a data driven company. Though we set big goals, we are committed to targets where we feel confident we can drive results on behalf of constituents. Each department at our company (Research, Product, Engineering, Data Strategy, Customer Success and Marketing) have clear metrics for success, track progress, and makes results–oriented improvements every week. We also actively work with our user and customers to get consistent feedback and explore ways in which to expand our scope and drive better outcomes.

And with tens of millions of users, information on hundreds of thousands of officeholders and coverage for hundreds of elections each cycle, we feel our results speak for themselves. However, we are always focused on the next frontier and the key metrics in our democracy that can be improved.

At BallotReady we don’t see any problem as too small or any idea as too big. Our democracy is dynamic, complex, and requires novel solutions for novel problems. As a company we embrace that reality and encourage a sense of wonder and possibility to make that happen.

We also don’t underestimate the ability of a collection of determined, knowledgeable and mission-oriented group of people to make a significant impact in fostering a healthier, high-participation democracy. To get there, we encourage this sense of wonder among not only our staff, but in collaboration with our customers and users as well.

At BallotReady, we take initiative. No matter our function, we are always thinking about ways we can improve our work. Becoming a more perfect union means continuing to perfect our processes, experiment with new features, and test new ways to inform and mobilize constituents.

We encourage all team members, customers, and users to suggest new ideas, provide feedback, and help improve our services. We are constantly striving to enhance our processes, innovate with new features, and engage and inform our community.