← Texas Votes
How It Works
Texas Votes is a free tool that helps you figure out which candidates on your ballot match your values. Here's how it works, in plain language.
What Does This App Do?
Texas Votes asks you a few questions about what matters to you — things like education, public safety, the economy, or healthcare. Then it looks at the candidates running in your area and suggests which ones are the best fit based on your answers.
Think of it like a matchmaker, but for elections. You tell it what you care about, and it connects you with candidates who share those priorities.
How Does the AI Part Work?
The app uses artificial intelligence (the same kind of technology behind tools like ChatGPT) to read through candidate information and compare it to your answers. Here's the process, step by step:
1
You answer a short interviewIt takes about 5 minutes. You pick the issues you care about, how you lean politically, and what qualities matter to you in a candidate.
2
The AI reads candidate profilesIt looks at each candidate's positions, endorsements, track record, and public statements — information gathered from official government sources, news outlets, and nonpartisan references.
3
It finds your best matchesThe AI compares what you said you care about with what each candidate stands for, then ranks them as a Strong Match, Good Match, or Best Available.
4
You get a personalized ballotYou see your matches with short explanations of why each candidate was recommended. You can print it as a cheat sheet to bring to the polls.
Where Does the Candidate Information Come From?
All candidate data is gathered from public sources, prioritized in this order:
- Official government records — filings with the Texas Secretary of State, county election offices
- Nonpartisan references — Ballotpedia, VoteSmart, and similar databases
- News coverage — reporting from established news organizations
- Campaign materials — candidates' own websites and public statements
The data is automatically re-checked every day to stay current. When sources disagree, official government records take priority.
What This App Does NOT Do
- It does not tell you who to vote for. It shows you matches and explains why, but the final choice is always yours.
- It does not store your personal information. Your answers stay on your phone or computer. They are never sent to our servers or saved anywhere we can see them.
- It does not track you. No cookies, no ad tracking, no personal data collection. We count anonymous page views to improve the app — that's it.
- It does not favor any political party. The AI is given strict instructions to be neutral. Candidates are shuffled randomly so no one gets an unfair advantage from being listed first. Learn more about our nonpartisan design.
- It does not replace your own research. This is a starting point to help you explore candidates. We always encourage you to verify information on your own.
How Can I Trust It?
We've built this app to be as transparent as possible:
- The entire source code is public — anyone can inspect it
- Four independent AI systems reviewed our code and methodology for bias
- Every recommendation tells you why a candidate was matched to you
- Every candidate profile includes links to original sources so you can check for yourself
- A live dashboard shows how complete and up-to-date our data is
- You can flag any candidate information that looks biased or inaccurate using the "Flag this info" button — reports go directly to our team for review
- Automated balance checks ensure every candidate gets equal analytical treatment — no one gets more praise or criticism than their opponents
If you want the technical details, the pages below go deeper:
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