How We Match You to Candidates
Transparent, data-driven, verifiable
Our methodology is open, auditable, and built on the principle that voters deserve to know exactly how their matches are calculated.
Data Sources
Where we get our information and how we verify it
Congressional Voting Records
Official roll call votes from the House and Senate, including bill sponsorships and co-sponsorships.
C-SPAN Archives
Transcripts and video of floor speeches, committee hearings, and official Congressional proceedings.
Official Campaign Websites
Policy positions, issue statements, and campaign promises directly from candidate websites.
Public Statements & Interviews
Recorded statements from press conferences, official interviews, and verified social media posts.
Fact-Checking Organizations
Verified claims from PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, and other non-partisan fact-checkers.
Legislative Bill Text
Full text of bills, amendments, and resolutions to understand policy details and sponsorships.
Primary sources first: We prioritize direct, verifiable sources over secondary reporting. Voting records and official transcripts carry more weight than news articles or social media posts.
The Matching Algorithm
How we calculate your match scores with candidates
Policy Positions Collected
You answer questions across major policy areas. Each answer is weighted by importance to you.
- →Climate policy
- →Healthcare
- →Economy & taxes
- →And 20+ more areas
Candidate Data Retrieved
We pull verified positions for all federal candidates from our database of voting records and statements.
- →Actual votes
- →Bill sponsorships
- →Public statements
- →Campaign positions
Multi-Dimensional Comparison
Your positions are compared to each candidate across all policy areas, weighted by your priorities.
- →Vector similarity analysis
- →Issue-specific scoring
- →Weighted aggregation
- →Confidence adjustments
Match Score Calculated
A final match percentage is calculated, with detailed breakdowns showing agreement on each issue.
- →0-100% match score
- →Issue-by-issue details
- →Source citations
- →Confidence levels
Technical Note
Our algorithm uses cosine similarity to measure alignment across a multi-dimensional policy space. Each policy area is represented as a vector, with your positions and candidate positions normalized and compared.
Weightings are applied based on your indicated priority for each issue. The algorithm is deterministic—given the same inputs, it always produces the same output—and completely blind to party affiliation.
Confidence Scoring
Not all data is equal. We rate the reliability of every position.
High (90-100%)
Criteria: Based on official voting record or recorded floor speech
Example: "Senator voted YES on H.R. 3684 (Infrastructure Bill)"
Medium (70-89%)
Criteria: Based on bill sponsorship, committee statements, or official campaign position
Example: "Candidate lists "Medicare for All" as priority on official campaign website"
Low (50-69%)
Criteria: Based on public interviews, verified social media, or proxy votes
Example: "Candidate tweeted support for policy X, verified by fact-checkers"
Insufficient Data
Criteria: Not enough verified information to assign a confident position
Example: "New candidate with no voting record or clear public statements"
Why This Matters
A candidate saying "I support climate action" in an interview is very different from voting for specific climate legislation. Our confidence scores help you understand the strength of the evidence behind each position.
Transparency is key: Every match score shows not just the percentage alignment, but the confidence level for each policy position. You can drill down to see the exact sources we used.
Privacy & Security
Your data, your control, your privacy
You Own Your Data
Your policy positions, browsing history, and personal information belong to you. You can export or delete it at any time.
We Don't Sell Data
Never. We don't sell, rent, or share your data with third parties except as legally required for FEC compliance.
Encrypted & Secure
All data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256). Payment information is handled by PCI-compliant processors.
Minimal Collection
We only collect data necessary for matching and donations. No tracking pixels, no ad networks, no unnecessary cookies.
FEC Compliance
Federal law requires us to collect and report certain information about political donations. We collect only what's legally required and protect it with the same security standards as the rest of your data.