Vote Smart

In 1986, Richard Kimball ran unsuccessfully for one of Arizona's two U.S. Senate seats. In a candidates' debate, he described the campaign process to prospective voters:

{{blockquote|Understand what we do to you. We spend all of our time raising money, often from strangers we do not even know. Then we spend it in three specific ways: First we measure you, what it is you want to purchase in the political marketplace—just like Campbell's soup or Kellogg's cereal. Next, we hire some consultants who know how to tailor our image to fit what we sell. Lastly, we bombard you with the meaningless, issueless, emotional nonsense that is always the result. And whichever one of us does that best will win.{{cite news |author=Editorial Board|title=Voting time approaches; do your homework|url=http://www.statesman.com/opinion/voting-time-approaches-do-your-homework-936143.html|access-date=June 23, 2011|newspaper=Austin American Statesman|date=September 24, 2010}}}}

Kimball used this philosophy to found Vote Smart in 1992. His founding board included Presidents Jimmy Carter (D) and Gerald Ford (R), plus Republican U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater and Democratic U.S. Senators George McGovern and William Proxmire as well as other nationally known figures.{{cite web|title=Vote Smart Board|url=https://votesmart.org/about/board|website=Vote Smart|access-date=June 21, 2016}}

Originally based at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, PVS established its headquarters and research center in 1999 at the Great Divide Ranch near Philipsburg, Montana. In 2006, Vote Smart added a branch at The University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. Coincident with this move, Vote Smart gave its president Richard Kimball a pay increase that was criticized by some alumni and contributed to a reduction in its Charity Navigator score.Duganz, Patrick. [http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/raising-richard/Content?oid=1139146 "Raising Richard: Breaking the pay scale at Vote Smart"]. Missoula Independent. August 30, 2007. In December 2010, the Tucson office was closed in preparation for two new satellite research offices. The reason for the closure of the Tucson branch was also related to the university's budget cuts, which eliminated Vote Smart's "rent-free space at a 1,500- square-foot house off the main campus."{{cite news|title=Project Vote Smart, a voter-aid group, leaving UA|url=http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_9418d2ca-907c-583d-9035-fbe8ab813d08.html|newspaper=Arizona Daily Star}}

In January 2011, Vote Smart moved its Key Votes Department and Political Courage Test Department to facilities offered by both the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Southern California.{{cite news|last=Weinraub|first=Dara|url=http://dailytrojan.com/2011/01/20/project-vote-smart-comes-to-campus/|newspaper=Daily Trojan|date=January 20, 2011|title=Project Vote Smart comes to campus}} Vote Smart has since left the University of Southern California and moved its Political Courage Department to its Montana research center.

In March 2014, Vote Smart laid off six employees, citing financial difficulties. A seventh employee quit because of the sudden layoffs.{{cite news|last1=Erickson|first1=David|title=Project Vote Smart lays off 6, considers closing|url=http://missoulian.com/news/local/project-vote-smart-lays-off-considers-closing/article_0ec6e3b0-b169-11e3-95b7-001a4bcf887a.html|access-date=November 16, 2015|publisher=The Missoulian|date=March 22, 2014}}

In August 2016, Vote Smart announced that it would be selling its 150-acre ranch near Philipsburg, Montana, and relocating its headquarters after the November 2016 U.S. presidential election. Kimball said the ranch's secluded location, which housed 40 interns, had caused issues: "We have all the problems a university does with the experimental, adventurous, hormonal torrent that is the young. Only in the wilderness such things can become dangerous. Love was requited and denied, marriages were created, fights ensued, drinkers crashed, injuries of every sort, hospital trips too numerous to recall, some to sustain life, and distressingly, three deaths."{{cite news|last1=Pentilla|first1=Annie|title=Nonprofit election tracker Project Vote Smart to leave Philipsburg|url=http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/nonprofit-election-tracker-project-vote-smart-to-leave-philipsburg/article_916f5dd2-8230-5d2c-846d-c1df4cf6fa75.html|access-date=September 16, 2016|publisher=Billings Gazette|date=August 8, 2016}} Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa was later announced as the new headquarters.{{cite web|url=http://news.drake.edu/2016/12/12/vote-smart-to-relocate-to-drake-university-in-des-moines/|title=Vote Smart to relocate to Drake University in Des Moines|date=12 December 2016}}

Vote Smart says that it does not accept contributions from corporations, labor unions, political parties, or other organizations that lobby, support or oppose candidates or issues.{{cite news|last1=Stirland|first1=Sarah Lai|title=Strapped for Cash, Election Info-Providing Project Vote Smart Might Have To Sell The Ranch|url=http://techpresident.com/news/21821/project-vote-smart-might-sell-ranch|access-date=16 November 2015|publisher=Tech President|date=February 23, 2012}} Donors to the organization have included the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.{{cite news|last1=Nintzel|first1=Jim|title= Test Study: Why are politicians like John McCain suddenly so afraid of Project Vote Smart?|url=http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/test-study/Content?oid=1091043|access-date=16 November 2015|publisher=Tucson Weekly|date=April 17, 2008}}

Individual contributors are considered members, and are given the opportunity to visit their headquarters where they work as research volunteers alongside interns and staff.{{cite web|title=Project Vote Smart Website - About Us|url=https://votesmart.org/program_about_pvs.php|access-date=23 June 2011}}

The Political Courage Test{{cite web|title=About the Political Courage Test|url=https://votesmart.org/about/political-courage-test|website=VoteSmart|access-date=2016-07-20}} This includes links to other VoteSmart pages, e.g., to "View the current Political Courage Test forms." (formerly the National Political Awareness Test, NPAT) is an American initiative intended to increase transparency in American politics.

It is part of the voter education organization Vote Smart's candidate information program. With a view towards elections, the test seeks to obtain answers from election candidates, describing their respective stances on a variety of popular issues in American politics. This information is then made available to voters in a selection-driven, standardized format.

In 2008, Project Vote Smart kicked John McCain off of the organization's board due to his refusal to fill out the Political Courage Test.{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Jonathan|title=McCain Gets the Boot From Project Vote Smart|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/04/senator-straight-talk-wont-go-record-project-vote-smart|access-date=16 November 2015|publisher=Mother Jones|date=April 10, 2008}}

The response to the Political Courage Test has dropped, from 72% in 1996 to 48% in 2008 and even further to 20% by 2016,{{Cite web|url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/11/04/why-its-so-hard-to-find-out-where-the-candidates-stand/|title=Why It's So Hard to Find Out Where the Candidates Stand|last=Potash|first=Eric|date=November 4, 2016|website=Washington Monthly|access-date=April 13, 2019}} because politicians from both parties are afraid that challengers will use their responses out of context in attack ads, according to The Wall Street Journal. Rep. Anne Gannon, Democratic leader pro tempore of the Florida House of Representatives, stated: "We tell our candidates not to do it. It sets them up for a hit piece." In response, Vote Smart has tried to shame politicians into it, and lets them leave up to 30% of answers blank.{{cite news

| last =Grant

| first =Peter

| title =Politicians Grow Wary Of Survey as Internet Spreads Attack Ads

| publisher =Wall Street Journal

| date =2006-10-25

| url =https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116173744805102790

}}

VoteEasy is "the interactive tool that enables voters to compare their position on various issues with that of a candidate." It was introduced by Vote Smart during the 2010 election season.{{cite news|last1=Naoreen|first1=Nuzhat|title=VoteEasy website aims to take guesswork out of voting: Nonprofit helps people find candidates whose opinions match up with their own|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1650119/voteeasy-website-aims-to-take-guesswork-out-of-voting/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108045745/http://www.mtv.com/news/1650119/voteeasy-website-aims-to-take-guesswork-out-of-voting/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 8, 2016|access-date=2016-06-21|agency=MTV|date=2010-10-15}}

Following its launch, VoteEasy was a topic of interest among several national news organizations including CBS News,{{cite news |last=Lazar |first=Shira |date=November 1, 2010 |title=Where Do I Vote? Digital Guide to Voting Made Easy |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/where-do-i-vote-digital-guide-to-voting-made-easy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120155051/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504464_162-20021211-504464.html |archive-date=January 20, 2011 |publisher=CBS News}} The New York Times,{{cite news|title=The Early Word: Delaware-Bound|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/the-early-word-delaware-bound/|work=The New York Times | first=Bernie|last=Becker|date=October 15, 2010}} and the Christian Science Monitor.{{cite journal|last=Goodale|first=Gloria|title=Project Vote Smart unveils tool for the confused Election 2010 voter: Vote Smart's VoteEasy website compares your answers on 12 basic Election 2010 questions with answers from congressional candidates in your district. But it's not flawless.|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/Vox-News/2010/1012/Project-Vote-Smart-unveils-tool-for-the-confused-Election-2010-voter|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=12 October 2010}}

• On the Issues

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal|last1=Ramasco|first1=José Javier|last2=Matter|first2=Ulrich|last3=Stutzer|first3=Alois|title=pvsR: An Open Source Interface to Big Data on the American Political Sphere|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=10|issue=7|year=2015|pages=e0130501|issn=1932-6203|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0130501|pmid=26132154|pmc=4488489|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1030501M |doi-access=free}}

• {{Official website|https://www.votesmart.org}}
• {{citation |work=Core.ac.uk |quote= Open access research papers |url= https://core.ac.uk/search?q=%22Project%20Vote%20Smart%22 |title= Project+Vote+Smart }} {{open access}}
• {{citation |title=Package 'pvsR' |date= February 20, 2015 |url=https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/pvsR/pvsR.pdf |quote=An R package to interact with the Project Vote Smart API for scientific research |work= Comprehensive R Archive Network }}

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Category:1992 establishments in Oregon

Category:Election and voting-related organizations based in the United States

Category:Government watchdog groups in the United States

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Iowa

Category:Organizations established in 1992