Frequently asked questions
How The Ballot covers elections: finding your ballot, how districts work, where our data comes from, and how we keep coverage nonpartisan and accurate.
How do I find who's running in my area?
Use the ballot lookup at /ballot: enter a ZIP code, or a city and state, and we'll take you to a page listing the statewide and, when we can match a district, U.S. House and state legislative races on your ballot, with every candidate running in each.
How do congressional and legislative districts work?
U.S. House seats and most state legislative seats are elected by district, so which candidates appear on your ballot depends on your address, not just your state. Statewide offices — president, U.S. Senate, governor, and other statewide executive offices — are the same for every voter in the state. District lines are redrawn after each census, so it's worth confirming yours periodically.
What are the key dates I should know?
Every election has a registration deadline, an election date, and often an early-voting window and mail ballot deadline. These vary by state and by election. Each state page on The Ballot lists the dates we have on file, and we link to the state or county election office for the authoritative version.
Where does your data come from?
Candidate and campaign finance data draws on OpenFEC for federal races and state disclosure filings where available. Legislative and district data comes from Open States and Congress.gov. Election dates and voter deadlines come from state and county election offices. We cite sources on candidate and race pages, and we welcome corrections if something is out of date.
How does The Ballot stay nonpartisan?
We do not endorse candidates or parties. Candidate profiles and race pages give equal space and structure to every candidate in a race, regardless of party, and issue positions are drawn from candidates' own public statements and filings with a source link attached. Our news coverage reports on what happened, not what should happen.
How are your articles written and checked?
Articles are drafted from public records, campaign filings, official statements, and reporting from other outlets, then reviewed against those sources before publication. Every factual claim tied to a candidate or a date is linked to its source where possible. If we get something wrong, see our corrections process below.
What's your corrections policy?
If you spot an error, tell us through the contact form and select "a correction." We verify against the original source and fix confirmed errors as quickly as we can. Substantive corrections are noted on the affected page.
Is anything on the site an endorsement or voting advice?
No. The Ballot does not endorse candidates, parties, or ballot measures, and nothing here is instructions on how to vote. Our coverage is informational. Always confirm your registration, polling place, and ballot details with your state or county election office before you vote.