Voter Guide Methodology

U.S. Congress Elections | WA Legislature Elections | Other Elections | Vote by Issue |  Main Page

Here's how we created the 2022 Voter Guide.

In our ongoing quest to get voters the information they need to mark their ballots, we asked candidates for Congress and the Washington Legislature to answer a short multiple-choice survey on today’s issues. For each topic – from abortion to the economy – we gave them five choices and asked them to mark which choice came closest to their beliefs. 

Sounds simple, but it’s obviously not. We did our best to provide choices that cover most of the political spectrum, but we would have needed a lot more choices to include every unique perspective. Some candidates chose not to participate; others made a choice and then added context with a short description. 

Let us know how you think this idea could be improved by emailing our news editor, Donna Blankinship, or by sending your thoughts through the form at the bottom of this page. We provide this voter guide for our readers and we want to hear from you.

Here's what we sent to the candidates running for U.S. Congress:

On the issue of gun regulations, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Some states, including Washington, have overstepped their authority on gun regulations.
• Current gun laws are adequate.
• Congress should raise the age to buy semi-automatic weapons to 21 and establish a national red flag law. 
• Congress should ban or severely limit sales of all semi-automatic weapons and ban high capacity magazines.
• Law enforcement should be empowered to take guns away from people who commit a felony or have been accused of domestic violence.

Regarding inflation, recovery and other economic issues, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Let the market decide. 
• We need to lower taxes on businesses to get the economy growing and encourage more hiring.
• The Federal Reserve needs to get a handle on inflation by continuing to raise interest rates.
• The economic recovery has not helped everybody. We need to give taxpayers another recovery check or a monthly check for families. 
• It’s time to consider a national program that provides a guaranteed basic income. 

Regarding housing and homelessness, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• All homeless people need to be swept off the streets and parks and into shelters.
• People need to take personal responsibility to get jobs and get into housing, but the government should keep building and operating some shelters to help with the transition.
• Lots more temporary shelters need to be built and run around the country to get people off the streets.
• Permanent affordable housing is the answer to both homelessness and housing affordability and much more housing needs to be built.
• Housing should be a right for all Americans. Similar to guaranteed basic income, there should be a guarantee of housing for all.

Regarding abortion, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Abortion should be outlawed, no exceptions. 
• Abortion should be outlawed, except for rape, incest and the health of the mother.
• This is a state issue. Let individual states decide whether to legalize abortion. 
• A national law or constitutional amendment should permit some but not all abortions. States should be prohibited from passing their own restrictions.
• Abortion should be legal everywhere, no exceptions.

Regarding immigration, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Close the borders. Deport residents without official authorization. 
• We should severely limit how many refugees and immigrants are welcome here and return to deporting people who come here without permission and then break the law.
• It’s time to create a path to citizenship for DACA recipients.
• It’s time to make DACA recipients full citizens and start talking about a path to citizenship for other longtime immigrants and refugees.
• Open our borders and welcome all newcomers who seek a life here.

Regarding the environment and global climate change, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• The threat of climate change is overblown and we cannot fix it with new laws.
• We have to carefully balance our priorities concerning climate legislation and the economy.
• Congress needs to invest serious money in developing alternative energy sources and encourage people to buy electric vehicles, invest in solar energy for their homes and switch from gas to electric to heat their homes.
• New regulations with firm deadlines should force the general population to give up gas-powered vehicles and heating powered by oil, natural gas and coal. 
• The United States needs to severely cut its carbon output with new incentives, restrictions and guidance for industry and individuals.

Here's what we sent to the candidates running for the WA Legislature:

On the issue of gun regulations, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Washington has overstepped its authority on gun regulations and state laws need to be pared back.
• Current gun laws are adequate.
• Law enforcement should get new financial resources and technical help to take guns away from people who commit a felony or have been accused of domestic violence.
• Gun purchases should be recorded or licensed and records of those purchases should be shared with law enforcement. 
• The Washington Legislature should pass a ban on all military style semi-automatic weapons. 

Regarding inflation, recovery and other economic issues, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Let the market decide. 
• We need to lower taxes on businesses to get the economy growing and encourage more hiring.
• The Legislature should consider some incentives and financial help to get businesses back on their feet.
• We need to consider giving Washington taxpayers a recovery check or a monthly check for families. 
• It’s time to consider a program that provides a guaranteed basic income. 

Regarding housing and homelessness, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Unsanctioned homeless encampments should be outlawed everywhere.
• People need to take personal responsibility to get jobs and get into housing, but the government should keep building and operating some shelters to help with the transition.
• Lots more temporary shelters need to be built and operated around the state to get people off the streets.
• Permanent affordable housing – not shelters –  is the answer to both homelessness and housing affordability.
• Housing should be a right for all Washingtonians. Similar to guaranteed basic income, there should be a guarantee of housing for all.

Regarding abortion, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Washington needs to reconsider its abortion laws and severely restrict who can get an abortion and when they can get it.
• Washington should not be welcoming people from other states to come to Washington to get an abortion.
• Washington already has strong abortion laws and nothing needs to be changed.
• The Washington Legislature should set aside some money to make abortion services available to all Washingtonians who want it and to support people coming to the state for an abortion.
• Washington should pass a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion, while spending more money to make abortion services available.

Regarding police and law enforcement regulations, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Let’s hire more police and put more money back into law enforcement budgets.
• Crime is out of control. Let the cops do their jobs.
• More law enforcement jobs need to be reassigned to social workers and other service providers.
• Police training needs to do a better job in the areas of deescalation, crisis intervention, use of force. Cops who are trained in these areas but fail on the job in some way should be fired. 
• We should cut spending on police by at least half.

Regarding the environment and global climate change, which statement comes closest to your point of view?

• Climate change is a natural phenomenon that we cannot fix with new laws or regulations.
• We have to carefully balance our priorities concerning climate legislation and the economy.
• Washington needs to invest serious money in developing alternative energy sources and to encourage people to buy electric vehicles, invest in solar energy for their homes and switch from gas to electric to heat their homes.
• New regulations with firm deadlines should use “a stick” to force the general population to give up gas-powered vehicles and heating with oil, natural gas and coal. 
• Washington needs to set an example for the rest of the nation by severely cutting its carbon output with new incentives, severe restrictions and guidance for industry.