Ballotpedia:FAQs regarding proof of official candidacy
In February 2020, Ballotpedia introduced a new policy related to how we define a candidacy. We define an official candidacy in the following way:
- In the time prior to the candidate's filing deadline: For Ballotpedia to treat someone as an official candidate prior to their state's filing deadline, the person must have registered their candidacy with a federal or state campaign finance agency
- In the time after the candidate's filing deadline: After the filing deadline has elapsed in the candidate's state, Ballotpedia only regards someone as an official candidate if they appear on official candidate lists released by government election agencies
Here are the steps that we are taking to implement this policy:
- We have reviewed our existing election coverage in order to locate candidates who are in races where the filing deadline has not passed yet and who do not have campaign finance registration information in our internal records.
- For each of the candidates on that list, we are conducting research for their Federal Election Commission ID number (if the individual is a candidate for a federal office) or their registration with their state’s campaign finance agency (if the individual is a candidate for a state-level position, such as governor or state senate).
- If you are a candidate for one of the offices that this policy applies to, we are attempting to locate your campaign finance registration. However, if you want to expedite the process or already have this information on-hand, this article explains in detail how to go about getting the necessary documentation and sending it to us.
We appreciate your understanding as we work to keep the information on Ballotpedia accurate and trustworthy!
The candidacies covered by this policy
If you are a candidate for one of the following seats or offices, the policy applies to you:
- U.S. President
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House
- State executives (this includes offices such as governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurers, controller, auditor, and commissioner)
- State legislators
- State appellate court judges (this includes both state supreme court justices and lower appellate court judges)
What documentation does Ballotpedia need from me to verify that I am a candidate?
Federal candidates
Ballotpedia needs the Federal Election Commission (FEC) candidate ID number for all federal election candidates. This includes candidates for President of the United States, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House.
Note that this ID number will only be a valid proof of candidacy if it is attached to a filing for the 2020 election.
State candidates
Ballotpedia needs one of the following forms of verification from state-level candidates:
- ID number for the candidate from the state campaign finance agency; or
- Unique URL for the candidate on the state campaign finance agency website; or
- Visual confirmation in the form of a screenshot of the candidate appearing on the state campaign finance agency website
Note that these forms of verification will only be a valid proof of candidacy if they are attached to a filing for the 2020 election.
Write-in candidates
Ballotpedia does cover qualified write-in candidacies, but we denote the write-in nature of the candidacy in our coverage.
- In states that publish a list of qualified write-in candidates, we will only cover write-in candidates who appear on that list.
- In states that do not publish a list of qualified write-in candidates, we will only cover write-in candidates who have contacted Ballotpedia to confirm their intention to run and who can provide a filing with a campaign finance agency or a confirmation from the election office that write-in votes for them will be tallied and reported separately.
- In either case, we will also retroactively add coverage of write-in candidates we were not aware of previously if they appear in the final certified election results for a race as long as they received at least 0.5% of the overall vote. However, we will only be able to do so if the votes for them are reported separately in the final certified election results, instead of being grouped together with all other write-in votes.
Where can I find this information?
Federal candidates
Federal candidates are allowed to register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) prior to reaching the $5,000 threshold for contributions or expenditures, at which point filing with the FEC becomes mandatory. Candidates who have filed with FEC receive a unique ID that they can provide to Ballotpedia for verification.
Here is a link to the candidate search tool on the FEC website. Click that link and enter your last name in the search box that says “CANDIDATE NAME OR ID” on the left side of the screen. If you have a common last name, you may want to use the additional filtering options on the left side of the screen to narrow your search. Once you find your name in the search results, click it.
This will load your profile page on the FEC website. Your ID number is located on this page below your name. See the red outlined section in the screenshot below for an example. In this example, the FEC ID number is H0MI13497.
State candidates
Each state has its own campaign finance agency, and the website design and amount of available information differs from state to state. As part of the rollout for this new policy, Ballotpedia has published a guide to help candidates locate their information on state campaign finance agency websites.
Click here to read our guide. In the table below the written instructions, scroll to your state and follow the steps in the fourth column to find your verification option. You can then email that information to Ballotpedia or submit it to us as part of your Candidate Connection survey.
When do I need to give Ballotpedia this information?
Ballotpedia proactively researches all declared candidates in federal and state elections to try to find official proof of candidacy before the filing deadline. However, we may make a mistake, or a candidate may register with the campaign finance agency after we have conducted our research. Candidates who want to ensure that they receive a Ballotpedia profile before the filing deadline for their office need to provide Ballotpedia with this information.
If the filing deadline for your state passes and you make it onto the ballot, we will create a Ballotpedia profile for you even if you did not submit this information.
How can I submit this information to Ballotpedia?
There are two methods to send us your proof of candidacy:
- Complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey and include it as part of your submission
- Email this information to editor@ballotpedia.org
Why does Ballotpedia need this information from me?
In February 2020, it came to Ballotpedia's attention that we had listed a person on our site who was not a genuine candidate.[1][2][3]
Ballotpedia's goal is to provide accurate information about politics at all levels of government. By allowing that person on our site, we did not meet that goal. To provide completely accurate information about who is in fact running for office, we needed to create a system by which we verify a person's status as an official candidate before we list them on our site.
Ballotpedia is requesting your help to keep the information on our site accurate. As a small nonprofit, we have limited resources and any information candidates can share with us will help make this free public resource more useful and reliable for voters.
Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "A high school student created a fake 2020 candidate. Twitter verified it," February 28, 2020
- ↑ Time, "When a Teenager Reportedly Invented a Fake Congressional Candidate, Twitter Verified the Made Up Politician's Account," February 29, 2020
- ↑ The Hill, "Twitter verified fake 2020 candidate created by high school student," February 28, 2020
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