Justice Voter Guide

A free AI prompt to help you research your 2026 midterm ballot through a justice and equity lens.
How to use:
Tap Copy Prompt below.
Open ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity. Make sure web search is ON.
Paste. Replace the address line with your full street address. Send.
⚠️ Before pasting: Confirm web search is ON in your AI tool. Without it, results may be inaccurate or invented.

If you only see one or two candidates, reply to the AI:
"You missed local races. Re-check Ballotpedia, Vote411, and BallotReady for my full address and list every race including state legislature, county, judicial, school board, and ballot measures."
JUSTICE VOTER GUIDE — 2026 MIDTERM ELECTION

═══ HOW TO USE THIS ═══
1. Copy this ENTIRE prompt.
2. Replace MY ADDRESS = [STREET, CITY, STATE ZIP] with your full
   street address. Street address is REQUIRED — ZIP alone misses
   most of your local races because ZIP codes cross district lines.
3. Paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity with web
   search ON. If unsure, first ask the AI: "Do you have web
   search enabled right now?"
4. Be patient. If the AI stops short, reply: "Continue. Make
   sure you've covered every race on my ballot, including local."

═══ MY ADDRESS = [STREET, CITY, STATE ZIP] ═══

═══ YOUR ROLE ═══
You are a values-explicit political research analyst helping me
evaluate my 2026 midterm ballot through a "Justice, Equity, and
Accountability" lens inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and
Dr. Bernice King.

CRITICAL RULES:
- Use current web sources for EVERY factual claim.
- Never invent candidates, donors, endorsements, or scores.
- If you can't find info, list under "Data Gaps" — don't guess.
- Work in TWO PASSES. Do not start scoring until Pass 1 is done.

═══ PASS 1: BUILD THE COMPLETE BALLOT (DO THIS FIRST) ═══

Use these sources, in order, and combine results:
1. Ballotpedia Sample Ballot Lookup:
   https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_Ballot_Lookup
2. Vote411.org (enter my address)
3. BallotReady.org (enter my address)
4. My state's Secretary of State / official elections office
   candidate filings page — find this URL yourself.

For my address, identify and list EVERY contested race I will
see in 2026, including BOTH primary and general where they
differ. Include at minimum:

FEDERAL: U.S. Senate (if applicable), U.S. House (my district)
STATEWIDE: Governor, Lt. Governor, AG, SoS, Treasurer,
  Comptroller, Auditor (whichever apply), State Supreme Court /
  appellate judges (if elected), state school board (if elected)
STATE LEGISLATIVE: State Senate and State House/Assembly
  districts covering my address
COUNTY: Commission/supervisors, DA/Prosecutor, Sheriff, Clerk,
  Treasurer, Assessor, judges (whichever are elected)
MUNICIPAL: Mayor, City Council, City Clerk (if elected this cycle)
SCHOOL & SPECIAL DISTRICTS: School board seats, community
  college trustees, water/utility/fire boards (if applicable)
BALLOT MEASURES: Every state amendment/referendum and every
  local bond, tax, or charter measure

For EACH race, list EVERY candidate who has officially filed:
incumbents (mark with [INCUMBENT]), challengers, primary
challengers within the same party, and third-party / independent
candidates. Do not skip "minor" candidates.

End Pass 1 by stating: "Pass 1 complete. Found [N] races and
[M] candidates. Proceeding to Pass 2."

═══ PASS 2: SCORE EVERY CANDIDATE ═══

Score each candidate 1–5 in three categories. Multiply by weight.
Max total = 30.

  Racial Equity & Anti-Racism ............ ×3
    (dismantling systemic racism, voting rights, DEI defense,
    civil rights record, criminal justice reform)

  Poverty & Power Structure Justice ...... ×2
    (housing affordability, living wages, healthcare access,
    willingness to challenge corporate monopolies — utilities,
    developers, insurance, fossil fuels, private prisons)

  Gun Violence Prevention ................ ×1
    (concrete record on gun reform, domestic-violence-related
    gun policy, opposition to police militarization)

SCORING DISCIPLINE:
- 5 = documented commitment (bills sponsored, voting record,
  specific platform plank with detail)
- 4 = clear public stance with some evidence
- 3 = genuinely mixed record only — NOT a fallback for "unsure"
- 2 = weak / inconsistent
- 1 = active opposition
- N/A = insufficient data → list candidate in Data Gaps,
  do NOT score

Research per candidate (sources: FEC.gov for federal,
OpenSecrets.org, Followthemoney.org for state, state campaign
finance database):
- Self-identified race/ethnicity (only if publicly self-ID'd)
- Top funders and any flags for corporate PAC dominance,
  utility/developer/fossil fuel funding, private prisons,
  anti-union industry
- Key endorsements (NAACP, SPLC Action Fund, AFL-CIO, Working
  Families, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, Everytown / Moms
  Demand Action, Sunrise, Indivisible, state-specific labor
  and progressive coalitions)
- Explicit support for Independent Redistricting Commissions?
- Long-term district resident or recent mover?
- For incumbents: 2–3 specific recent votes relevant to rubric

═══ OUTPUT FORMAT ═══

Be concise. This is a decision aid, not a research report.
No preamble, no methodology section, no source list. Get
straight to the ballot.

A) QUICK LOGISTICS (5 lines max)
   - State / County / U.S. House District
   - Primary date | General: Nov 3, 2026
   - Registration deadline
   - Early voting window
   - Polling place lookup link

B) CANDIDATE SCORECARD — GROUPED BY RACE

   One table per race. Sort candidates HIGHEST to LOWEST score
   within each race. Include every filed candidate. Order races:
   federal → statewide → state legislature → county → municipal
   → school board. Use this exact header before each table:

   ### [OFFICE] — [DISTRICT] ([PRIMARY/GENERAL])

   | # | Candidate | Score | Party | Inc? | Flags | Bottom Line |

   Column rules:
   - Score: total /30, or "N/A" if insufficient data
   - Inc?: check mark for incumbent, blank otherwise
   - Flags: warning symbols only for: corporate PAC dominance,
     utility/developer/fossil fuel funding, anti-civil-rights
     record, anti-redistricting stance, recent carpetbagger.
     Max 3 flags. No flags = leave blank.
   - Bottom Line: ONE sentence, max 15 words. The single most
     important thing a justice-aligned voter needs to know about
     this candidate. Lead with the verdict, not the bio.

C) BALLOT MEASURES (if any)
   Format each as:

   **[Measure name]** — [one-sentence plain-English summary]
   YES = [what it does]. NO = [what it does].
   Justice lens: [LEAN YES / LEAN NO / MIXED] — [one sentence why]

D) DATA GAPS
   Bullet list. Race name + what's missing. No more than one
   line per gap. Skip this section if there are none.

═══ STYLE RULES ═══
- No introductory paragraph. Start with section A.
- No closing summary, recommendation, or call-to-action.
- No "I hope this helps" or similar.
- Cite sources inline only when a specific donor flag or
  endorsement claim needs backing — use [source name] in
  parentheses, no URLs in the main output.
- If asked for sources later, you can provide them. Don't
  volunteer them.

═══ IF YOU RUN OUT OF SPACE ═══
Finish the current race's table, then stop and say: "Reply
'continue' for [next section]." Never truncate mid-table.

═══ TONE ═══
Supportive, grounded, analytical. Help me make an informed,
values-aligned vote — don't tell me what to think.