Who Should I Vote For?

The 2016 election season is almost over.  Finally!  It seems like it has gone on for years!  But, now the final debate was tonight, and election day is in just under three weeks.

This year more than ever, I have talked to and read about party loyalists, on both sides, being unhappy with their candidate.  Also more prevalent this year, closet third party supporters are coming out in droves.  I'm not going to share my political views, that's not the purpose of this post.  Frankly, I don't fit neatly into one category.  On some issues I lean one way, on some I lean the other, and on some I either seem to be right in the middle or out in left field with my beliefs.  

Whether you are typically loyal to one party, or all over the map like me, sometimes it hard to know whom to choose.  Media reports are often biased.  Reading candidate websites can be time consuming and tedious, not to mention the stated platform seems to contradict the actions of the candidates regularly.  Never fear, I have a resource for you!

I Side With created an online political quiz to help match voters up with candidates.  Answer a few or as many questions as you wish, rate how important each topic is to you, then they compare your answers to their database of candidates' platforms, speeches, debate answers, etc. to see with whom you most closely align.

The quiz starts with a base of 32 questions, but can be expanded to a total of 91 questions.  Click see more questions at the end of each topic section to expand the topic.  Topics include social, environmental, economic, domestic policy, healthcare, electoral, education, foreign policy, criminal, immigration, and science.  Be sure to rate the importance of each question for a better match.

At the end you will receive a summary of how much you agree with each candidate in the form of a percentage.  It will also tell you on which topics you agree with the candidate.  I have recommended this to several friends. Some have commented that it was so nice to have the candidates' names removed from the decision and just look at the issues.  Others stated that they knew they didn't want to vote for their closest match  (for non-political reasons), but didn't know who would be the next best choice (politically speaking).  Either way, this seems to be a concise, non-biased decision making tool.

I hope it helps any of you who are still on the fence.  Don't forget to share with your friends and family.  Speaking of help; do you have any tips or tools to share with me?  Post them in the comments below.

-Karissa