By Catherine Martinez
If you’ve ever stepped into the ballot box and been confused about the meaning of a statewide ballot measure, you are not alone. That’s why Leslie Graves founded Ballotpedia at her kitchen table in 2007; she wanted to shed the mystery surrounding statewide ballot propositions and provide clarity for American voters. “The only motivation and the only thought was that voters at that point would find it very hard to find convenient, accurate, and very comprehensive information about statewide ballot measures,” Ms. Graves said.
The first Election Day after Ballotpedia was founded, the website received so many visits that the server crashed. That was the first time Ms. Graves realized there were many people who wanted to understand statewide ballot measures on a deeper level. Each year, Ballotpedia has grown to include more states and added candidate profiles at all electoral levels. Part of the purpose is to help voters understand where candidates stand on issues, particularly in local elections, which tend to receive less media coverage. Ballotpedia has a lofty goal of covering every race in the country, especially at the local level. “We’re in a 10-year marathon to get to where we can cover the roughly 510,000 hyper-local elected lawmakers,” Ms. Graves said. This will allow voters across the country to find meaningful information about the candidates on their ballots to make smarter, more informed decisions.
Democracy through Transparency
As local newsrooms become a thing of the past, it has become more difficult for voters to get to know the candidates running for office in their communities. Ballotpedia’s candidate surveys are essential for helping voters decide which candidate they most align with by reading, in their own words, where each candidate stands on the issues. “Our readers love, love, love when they can read nice long answers to candidate surveys,” Ms. Graves said. “We don’t want to ask gotcha questions. We want the candidate to really reveal who they are to voters.”
These questions include getting to know the candidate’s thoughts on pressing issues, as well as more personal ones, such as “What is your favorite book?” These questions get to the heart of who the person is and what they believe, capturing their overall worldview. Sometimes, candidates are hesitant to respond to surveys because many news organizations have biases. But Ballotpedia is committed to remaining neutral and providing readers with only the facts, which has won the trust of both candidates and the audience.
“People might interpret this as just another media entity that’s trying to get me. And we really aren’t,” she said. “We say, ‘Here, use your voice. Our readers would love to hear what you think.’
“They breathe a sigh of relief because they’re like, ‘Okay, this is not an attack ad. This is also not a puff piece,” she said.
Changing the Landscape of Local Elections
Ms. Graves believes in the importance of local elections and local leaders, and this is part of what motivates her work. Ballotpedia reports that 96% of all elected officials in the United States are locally elected mayors, judges, county council members, and more. “The local elected offices are the people who are closest to the voter and to the residents,” she explained. Even so, most media attention gets directed to the national and state-level races. “If all you ever pay attention to are the big national headlines and the big hyper-partisan spats, it would discourage you about American democracy,” she continued. “If people knew more about these people [local leaders], they’d be like, ‘Oh, this isn’t so bad.’”
The Key to True Success
Even after building an organization that has empowered so many people to make informed decisions to help their communities and country, Ms. Graves is most proud of the stable life she’s built with her husband, her children, and her grandchildren. “I’m just proud that my husband and I were able to have a stable life where we are able to give back to others,” she said. “If you and your spouse are able to figure out how to create enduring stability, many good things will come.”
Her advice for women is to get involved in a local church, to do more than just attend Sunday morning services. “Planting yourself in a small group of women that you can share your deep journey with and pray together and learn together is really important,” she said. Most of all, she wants to encourage young women not to give up, even when things are hard. From her experience, she’s realized that much of her success comes from not giving up. “Life right now is really tough for younger people,” she said. “But the only thing you can do is figure it out and stick it out.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catherine is a full-time copywriter for a nonprofit organization and a freelance writer. She spends her days writing, chasing toddlers and learning how to master her money. Catherine lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and their two young children.
