Vote Compass is an interactive electoral literacy application developed by political scientists and run during election campaigns. It offers an accessible framework for learning about party platforms, stimulates discussion on a wide variety of election issues, and encourages democratic participation within the electorate.
Based on an individual's responses to a series of propositions specifically developed for a given election, Vote Compass generates a real-time analysis of how one's views compare to the platforms of each political party vying for office. This analysis is powered by an open database which contains a public record of each party's stand on the issues included in Vote Compass.
Vote Compass is a non-profit initiative operated by an independent, non-partisan network of academics from universities across Canada and overseen by an advisory board comprised of several of the country's most distinguished scholars in the field of electoral politics.
The initiative is motivated by the premise that an informed and engaged electorate is crucial to a robust democracy. It increases the flow of information to the public by parsing political rhetoric and creating accessible conditions for basic comparative policy analysis. It provokes discussion on relevant matters as well as matters that might not otherwise be duly considered in an election campaign. It holds politicians accountable to their public statements. And it provides the electorate with a public forum that they might not otherwise have, and thus an opportunity to make their voices heard.
How do your views about U.S. politics stack up against the 2012 presidential candidates? Find out with a new edition of Vote Compass specially designed for the 2012 U.S. presidential election and brought to you in association with the Wall Street Journal and Rock the Vote. Developed by political scientists, Vote Compass is a fun and informative conversation-starter about American politics. Try Vote Compass for yourself at http://wsj.com/votecompass.