Methods
How we build these pages
SuperCitizen is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We do not support or oppose any candidate or party, and nothing on these pages is an endorsement. Here is exactly what we do and don't do.
The rules every page follows
- No source, no claim. Every fact links to where it came from and the day we read it. Our build refuses to publish a fact without a source.
- Primary sources first: state election offices, the FEC, the official House and Senate records, and candidates' own websites. We link to news and reference sites rather than copying them.
- The same template and rules for every candidate and every party. No rankings, ratings, scores, endorsements, badges or party colors. Party labels appear exactly as printed on the ballot.
- No empty sections. If we have no public source for something, that section is left out rather than shown blank. A missing section means we didn't find a source — not that the thing doesn't exist.
- Every ballot-qualified candidate is included — major parties, minor parties and independents. Write-in candidates aren't listed.
- Research is done race by race, so everyone in a race is looked up the same way, at the same time.
How we use AI
AI helps us read public sources and draft short, neutral summaries: candidates' backgrounds, their stated positions, what bills do, and the issues with their ranges of views. Anything AI drafted is labeled on the page. The rules for drafted text:
- Every sentence cites its source, so you can check it yourself.
- It attributes rather than asserts (“her campaign website says…”), and never puts words in a candidate's mouth with quotation marks.
- It never infers a position a candidate hasn't stated. If they haven't said anything public on an issue, the issue is left out.
- A position is marked on an issue's range of views only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option.
- Before publishing, a separate AI reviewer — one that didn't write the text — checks every drafted summary against its sources, and re-checks a random sample of all other facts.
- Each issue's range of views lists positions real candidates hold, worded the way their own supporters would put them, and a separate AI review checks that wording for neutrality. The order of the options is not a ranking, and issues are listed alphabetically.
Where the facts come from
| Who is on the ballot | Each state’s election office (secretary of state or board of elections): its official list of candidates for the November 3, 2026 general election. |
|---|---|
| Money | The Federal Election Commission’s bulk data files: each campaign’s financial summary, and independent expenditures reported for or against each candidate. Source |
| Bills | Congress.gov’s official bill records (titles, status, sponsors, cosponsors, actions), from the Government Publishing Office’s bulk data. Source |
| Members of Congress | The Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, and the public-domain congress-legislators dataset for official websites and accounts. Source |
| Financial disclosures | The Clerk of the House’s financial disclosure filings; the Senate’s disclosure search for Senate candidates. Source |
| Find my races | The U.S. Census Bureau’s Geocoder and its 2026 (120th Congress) district maps. Source |
| Backgrounds and positions | Candidates’ own campaign websites and public statements, official government pages, and — linked, never copied — reputable reporting. |
How we picked the bills, and the threshold for bills that never got a vote, are explained on the bills page and the never-got-a-vote page.
Limits to keep in mind
- Money figures are as of each campaign's latest report to the FEC, shown with its date. Candidates who raise less than $5,000 aren't required to report.
- Outside spending comes from the 24- and 48-hour reports groups must file for larger independent expenditures, counting only the latest version of an amended report. Smaller expenditures that appear only on regular monthly or quarterly reports aren't included, so full totals can be somewhat higher.
- We match ballot names to FEC and congressional records automatically, then check the matches. If you spot a mismatch, please tell us.
- Your county's sample ballot is the final word on what you'll vote on. Find yours through vote.gov.
Mistakes and corrections
Every page has a “Report an error” link. A person checks each report against the sources. When we fix something, we say what changed and when on the page itself and in the corrections log.
Candidates
Everything here comes from public sources. We don't ask candidates or campaigns for input this election, and we don't contact them. Starting next election cycle, candidates will be able to add their own answers, clearly labeled as theirs.
Your privacy
When you look up your races, your address goes to the Census Bureau's address service to find your district, and that's all. We don't store it, log it, or put it in a link. See our privacy policy.