What Would You Ask Your Candidate Today?
Before every election cycle, our team spends hundreds of hours in research, review, and discussion about our candidate questionnaires in order to make sure our questions are thought-provoking, relevant, and helpful to conservative voters.
Many of the questions we are asking our congressional, statewide, state legislative, judicial, and school board candidates in 2022 have been carefully updated for clarity and to reflect the changing political climate . . . and what you tell us is important to YOU. We have added new categories of issues in some questionnaires as well as refining, adding and deleting questions to keep the length of the questionnaire reasonable. One feature we now include that was not present in our previous questionnaires is the ability for the candidate to describe why they answered a certain way.
Here are a few of the changes we made for 2022 in order to reflect the issues coming to the forefront of our national debate . . . and to the minds of voters as you go to cast your ballot.
Since most states have already held their primary elections, you may have noticed some of these new questions and categories. You will see them again in your General Election voter guide.
Issue #1: Government Overreach
The lockdowns of 2020 demonstrated how far state officials believed their legitimate powers extended, and whether they believed houses of worship were essential to society. In our “Religious Liberty” category, we have added a new question for statewide and state legislative candidates:
"Under what circumstances can government close churches?”
Many have felt the effects of government overreach in another area of their lives: medical freedom. Our “Healthcare” category has traditionally been used to find out candidates’ views on Obamacare, universal health care, and other areas pertaining to health care coverage. With 2020 and COVID 19 came more questions about the government’s role, and mandates prompted the addition of a new question:
“Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?”
This question not only reveals a candidate’s stance on individual liberty in general, but also what authority belongs to the federal government, state government, or the private sector.
Issue #2: Elections and Voting
Our “Elections and Voting” category contains a new statement and a new question:
“People should be able to vote without photo identification.” (agree/disagree)
“What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?”
During the 2020 election season, several states changed their election procedures in ways that resulted in lower integrity and higher distrust. Voters need to know their candidate’s assessment of current voting procedures, and whether they plan to make any changes regarding this solemn right.
Issue #3: Critical Race Theory
In our “Values” category, we have replaced the 2020 agree/disagree question, “Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government,” with the agree/disagree question, “I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.”
The change was made to address the current push for the 1619 Project, CRT, and the dramatic re-writing of history and destruction of American exceptionalism. The new question provides clear basis for voters to assess whether a candidate believes our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Thus, we are hoping to capture both answers in one question.
Answering the “What” and the “Why”
Further additions and refinements include areas such as energy and the environment, criminal justice and defunding of the police, and national security issues that have become more prominent.
Why do we include what we include? Great question! iVoterGuide strives to be the go-to voter guide for conservatives on a wide range of issues. From fiscal responsibility to religious freedom and foreign policy, we ask the tough questions on many issues important to voters.
We also include some questions we hope will reveal not just what policies a candidate supports or opposes, but the foundational beliefs behind their positions . . . not just the “what,” but the “why.”
Since this article is only able to highlight a few of this year’s refinements, we encourage you to delve into the questionnaires. You can view our current questions in this article. If you want to see a particular candidate’s answers in the past, previous voter guides are listed on the right-hand side of your individual state’s page. Also, don’t forget that you can click on the “more” button next to a candidate’s evaluation and see all of the information we’ve been able to collect on that candidate . . . including their answers if they answered the questionnaire.
It is our hope that the revisions we’ve made help you obtain a clearer picture of where your candidates stand on the pressing issues of today.
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