Citizens need no account. Candidates do, because a candidate’s record speaks for them in public. Four steps:
- Register. Your name, the office, the state and district, your campaign email, and the public filing that shows you are running. Federal candidates give their Federal Election Commission ID; state and local candidates give the link to their official filing.
- The Oath. Thirty seconds, one take, outside the seat of the office you want: “I answered every question in my Top 10 myself. No staff. Fill it all out, or don’t run.”
- The recorded session. Fill out the Top 10 with your camera on. Every answer is logged with the time it was given. No staffer may answer for you.
- Your record. Once every answer is in, your full record is published with The Oath and the session. A record whose filing checks out reads Verified. Otherwise it reads Self-reported.
What does registering check?
Registering checks one thing: that you are really running for the office you name. Federal candidates register with the Federal Election Commission once they raise or spend more than $5,000,fec.gov so a federal record is matched to that public filing. State and local candidates link the official filing from their state or county election office. The match is made by the Fair Forward Engine, never by a person, so no one at My Vote Forward decides who counts as a candidate.
Can my staff help?
Staff can book the hour, set up the device and close the door. They cannot answer, suggest or review answers. The session recording shows who answered, and a record answered by staff is not accepted. A candidate who needs help because of a disability may have an assistant, and the record says so.
Can I change an answer later?
Yes. Every change is dated and public, and the earlier answer stays on the record. See Changing answers.
Why so much?
Because you are asking for power over all of us. See Why so hard on politicians? and Every subject, every answer.
What My Vote Forward can and cannot do here
Can:
- Hold every candidate to the same four steps, in every party and every office.
- Mark a record Verified when the filing checks out, and Self-reported when it does not.
Does not:
- Endorse, rank or score any candidate.
- Accept position papers, platform pages or answers from staff.
Unresolved questions
- Local filings. Some counties publish candidate filings only on paper. How should a local candidate show they are running when no filing is online?
Sources
Opened and checked on October 30, 2026.
- Federal Election Commission, “Registering as a candidate.” fec.gov
