FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
1. I am a candidate. How can I access my profile to provide information to Voter’s Edge California?
Please email [california@votersedge.org](mailto: california@votersedge.org) to get started! Please include your full name, the office you are running for, and the best way to contact you.
2. If I enter my address and zip code and you give me a sample ballot, does this mean that I am registered to vote?
No. Voter’s Edge California does not know if you are registered to vote. Check the status of your voter registration through your county’s election office. You can also register to vote online: registertovote.ca.gov.
For more information visit Voter’s Edge California Voting Information.
3. Why don't you provide ballot and contest information for my county?
We currently cover all federal and state contests on the ballot in California and we offer local election data covering more than 90% of California voters. To fully support a county we need data from your local elections office and volunteer team members to get data online.
To volunteer and help bring local coverage to your county, you don’t need to be an elections expert and we are always looking for new volunteers! If you would like to help, Contact Us to learn more.
Currently Voter’s Edge California covers local elections in these counties: Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Kern, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Ventura.
4. In what order do you list the candidates for a contest and why doesn’t the order match the sample ballot I get from my county?
The order of appearance for candidates in Voter’s Edge California is random and changes at periodic intervals. The order of appearance on official printed ballots is randomly assigned, but is different for various precincts within the same county. We feel that our method of random order, varied periodically, is the most fair to all candidates. No one candidate is ever always at the top or always at the bottom of a list.
5. Why do some candidates have information associated with their candidacies and others do not?
All candidates for the counties we cover are listed on your personalized ballot and in the relevant election contest.
All candidates for fully-supported counties have been issued written invitations to enter data into Voter’s Edge California at no cost. Volunteers also call candidates to urge participation. If a candidate has accepted our invitation to provide information about themselves and their candidacy, that information is provided.
If you would like to encourage candidates to provide their information for Voter’s Edge California, please go to the their Voter’s Edge California profile, find their contact information there, and contact them to urge participation. If there is no contact information available on Voter’s Edge California then please feel free to research it and Contact Us to provide us with the candidates’ contact information. Thank you!
Voter’s Edge California never supports or opposes candidates or political parties.
6. What do you do with my address and zip code?
Voter’s Edge California does not use street addresses for any purposes other than retrieving election information and making improvements to the website. Voter’s Edge California will not sell the address or disclose it in any analysis or report.
Voter’s Edge California uses your street address and zip code in order to find your ballot and polling location.
Your address is used to determine the precinct, which, in turn, determines polling location and ballot type. Election officials have furnished Voter’s Edge California with the street address ranges for precincts, and the corresponding polling place and ballot information. We do not currently have the ability to hold individual addresses or to check voter registration status.
If you believe that your street address and zip code should have produced a ballot, but find that is has not, please report this problem. We must have your street address and zip code to be able to determine if a problem exists and how to fix it. We do not use this information for any other purpose.
7. If I send you a feedback, what do you do with my email address?
We use email addresses to allow a Voter’s Edge California project team member to respond to your feedback. We will not disclose your address to anyone except project team members for the purposes of responding to you.
8. Do you use "cookies"?
We do not directly use cookies, however some of our third party service providers do. This allows us to use anonymous data to help us better understand our users. Please check our Privacy Policy for more information.
9. How do you get your data?
Please visit our section on How we get our data for a full explanation of Voter’s Edge California methodology. For further details please also see our Terms of Use.
10. I keyed in my address and zip code, but you didn't find my ballot. Why not?
If you live in a covered county in California then be sure to Contact Us and report this problem. You will need to give us your street address and zip code for us to be able to diagnose the problem.
If you live in county in California that is not being covered, we do have information on the "upper ticket" contests and candidates for statewide elections, but not your local contests. Contact Us if you zip code was not recognized.
11. Does Voter’s Edge California give recommendations as to how to vote on ballot measures?
No. Voter’s Edge California does not take positions on ballot measures.
The League of Women Voters of California’s Education Fund, which partners to produce Voter’s Edge California, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization and never advocates. The League of Women Voters of California does operate a separate nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization that advocates on issues and sometimes makes recommendations on ballot measures.
12. Do you give recommendations as to how to vote on candidates?
No. Voter’s Edge California, MapLight, the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, and the League of Women Voters of California never support or oppose either any political party or any candidate.
