How to Compare Candidates Objectively: A Voter Checklist

Compare candidates running for the same office and region first. Cross-office comparisons often look intuitive but lead to weak conclusions.

Define the issues you care about before reading campaign messaging so you do not anchor on personality or headlines.

Read policy summaries, funding disclosures, and public Q&A responses together. One source alone can hide risk.

When possible, trace each major claim to a primary source and timestamp so you can see what changed over time.

Look at whether the candidate has delivered measurable outcomes in prior roles: budgets, timelines, and implementation quality.

A detailed plan with no operational track record should be scored differently from a moderate plan with proven execution.