Where do your candidates stand on privacy? Now you can check.

Privacy Ballot is a free, nonpartisan guide to the privacy records of candidates in 464 races across 312 U.S. cities, with every record linked to its source.

You can look up a candidate’s views on taxes, schools or housing in a minute. Try finding out what they’ve done about your privacy, and you’ll end up deep in roll calls, bill texts and old interviews.

That matters, because the people on your ballot write the rules for who can see your messages, your location and your search history. So we built a shortcut.

Privacy Ballot shows where the candidates on your ballot stand on one issue: privacy. It’s free, it’s nonpartisan, and it covers 464 races across 312 U.S. cities for the general election on Tuesday, November 3.

How to check your ballot

1. Go to startpage.com/privacy-ballot. Search your city or state.
2. See every race we checked. Pick a state on the map to see its races and candidates, sources attached. Races marked Not yet reviewed are still being researched.
3. Open any candidate. You’ll see their privacy grade and the records behind it, each one linked to its source.

That’s it. Two minutes, and you know more about your ballot than most campaign ads will tell you.

How the grades work

First, what we mean. Privacy means you decide who sees your personal data: your searches, location, health and messages. Surveillance is when a government or company collects that data without a warrant or your clear consent.

Every candidate gets one of six grades, on that one issue:

• Privacy champion: consistently protects privacy. At least 80% of the weighted record, backed by at least two votes, laws or official actions.
• Leans privacy: more of the record protects privacy than expands surveillance (over 60%).
• Mixed record: the record cuts both ways about evenly (40–60%).
• Leans surveillance: more of the record expands surveillance than protects privacy (under 40%).
• Expands surveillance: consistently expands surveillance. 20% or less, backed by at least two votes, laws or official actions.
• Still verifying: too little verified record to grade. This is not a negative mark.

The rules are the same for everyone:

• What they did counts more than what they said. Votes, laws and official actions count twice as much as statements and pledges. Sponsored bills count one and a half times.
• There has to be enough record. To be graded, a candidate needs at least one vote, law or action, or two statements. Candidates who haven’t held office often have no record yet, and that’s not a negative mark.
• Talk alone can’t earn the top or bottom grade. Those also need at least two votes, laws or actions.
• Party earns no credit. Party-line votes count as context only, and party is shown just so you can identify a candidate.
• Context doesn’t count toward the grade. For example, final votes to renew Section 702 are context, while votes on adding a warrant requirement count. Statements that only criticize an opponent are context too.
• Every record is sourced. A record is one vote, bill, law, action or public statement about privacy, linked to its source. Candidates come from official state lists.

Spot an error, or know a record we missed? Send feedback on the page. Your answers are anonymous, and we don’t ask for your name or email. The guide is still growing: we publish what we’ve verified, keep adding to it, and records can change as candidates vote, speak or act before November 3.

Check your ballot before November 3: startpage.com/privacy-ballot

Need your polling place or registration? Go to vote.gov.