Check your own thinking · Ten questions
Before you judge any candidate, check your own assumptions.
The best voters are the ones who question their own thinking first. Before you form a final opinion about anyone on your ballot, work through these ten questions honestly. Nobody sees your answers. The goal is not to push you toward a party. It's to make sure your views are actually yours and not a team jersey.
The premise
“Most of us don't hold political views; political views hold us. The path to a better democracy is less partisan energy and more honest self-examination. This app exists to push every voter, regardless of party, toward evidence-based, moderate, locally-grounded decisions. Not toward a side. Toward a standard.”
01
Before you rule anyone out
“Have I actually read one pro AND one con about every candidate in this race, or only about the ones on 'my side'?”
Why it matters · Most of us evaluate our side for policy and the other side for vibes. Forcing yourself to read a real pro for the candidate you dislike, and a real con for the candidate you like, is the fastest way to move from tribal to evidence-based.
02
The party-swap test
“If I swapped the party labels on these two candidates, would my opinion of their actions change?”
Why it matters · When the same behavior is excused on your side and condemned on the other side, that's a tell. Reasonable people apply the same standard in both directions. The mail-ballot vote, the Epstein delay, the 'bad faith' ruling, the January 6 statements, each one has a fair read. Ask yourself if you're using the same read for both sides.
03
The specifics test
“Can I name three specific policy differences between the candidates in any race, or am I voting on vibes?”
Why it matters · If your reasons to support a candidate are 'they're reasonable' or 'they're not the other guy,' you're voting tribal, not informed. The fix is simple: pick any race and read the five stated positions for each candidate. Compare. If you can't, you don't have a policy reason, you have a team reason.
04
The 'practice vs. preach' test
“Does the candidate I'm leaning toward have a clear example of their actions matching their stated principles, not just their words?”
Why it matters · Talk is cheap. A candidate's record is what their rhetoric looks like under pressure. If you can't find an example of them taking a vote or action that cost them something with their own party, they may not actually hold the principles they claim.
05
The steelman test
“Can I state, in my own words, the strongest argument for the candidate I'd never vote for?”
Why it matters · If you can't make their best case, you don't understand the race. You're arguing against a cartoon. Every candidate in this app has a 'Three Views' block including how their own side sees them. Read it. Try to hold it as true for 90 seconds. You don't have to agree, you have to understand.
06
The local lens
“Am I evaluating this local candidate on local issues, or am I mapping them onto a national fight that isn't their job?”
Why it matters · A PA State Rep doesn't vote on immigration, foreign policy, or abortion federalization. A Bucks County Commissioner doesn't set federal tax policy. State senators can't declare war. Voting a local candidate in or out because of a national issue they have no authority over is a common failure mode.
07
The incumbency test
“If this incumbent were new, would I still support them based on their record alone?”
Why it matters · Incumbents get re-elected 90%+ of the time, not always because they're the best candidate, but because voters default to the known name. Flipping the question forces you to evaluate the record, not the familiarity.
08
The news-diet check
“Where did I hear the last three things I believe about any of these candidates?”
Why it matters · Mainstream outlet? Partisan outlet? Social media? A friend? Each has a different reliability. This app links every claim to a source on purpose, because if you can't name where a belief came from, you can't weigh whether to keep it.
09
The common-ground audit
“On which issues do the candidates I like and the candidates I don't like actually agree, and what does that agreement mean for how polarized my view really is?”
Why it matters · Most candidates in any given race agree on more than cable news suggests. Local public safety, local road maintenance, local business support, veterans' services, there's often 80% overlap on the boring stuff that matters most day-to-day.
10
The extremism check
“Am I excusing behavior in candidates on my side that I'd condemn on the other?”
Why it matters · This is the clearest signal that tribe has overtaken principle. If defiance of a court ruling was wrong when the other side did it, it's wrong when your side does it. If a four-month silence on an obvious vote was bad when their guy did it, it's bad when your guy does it. Apply the same standard. Update accordingly.