Candidate FAQ: straight answers about the Top 10

The Top 10 is free, needs no account, endorses no one and casts no official vote. Officials and candidates answer the same ten subjects as every voter, every subject and every answer, and share one thing: the full PDF record, with their name, office and the date completed on the cover. The answers below cover what candidates and their staff ask most often, each in a few sentences, with a link to the full page.

Before you start

The basics: what the Top 10 is, what it costs and who stands behind the questions.

Does any politician get a shortcut?

No. No politician gets a shortcut: answer everything, or get nothing. The record, the PDF, exists only once every subject and every answer is complete: MyPriorities, MyBudget, all ten MyGrades and every MyOpinion question, 62 answers in total. There is no partial record, no preview and no cards or images to share instead. There are no exceptions for any party or any office.

Fill it all out, or don’t run. We deserve to know.

Citizens are different. A citizen can download their own Top 10 PDF at any time, with whatever they have answered, because they are not running for office.

Is a Top 10 an endorsement of a candidate?

No. A Top 10 is a candidate’s own statement of where they stand, and My Vote Forward does not endorse, rank, rate or recommend any official, candidate or party. Sharing a full record does not mean the project supports you, and declining to share one does not mean it opposes you. Every candidate gets the same cards. See Same cards for everyone.

Does the Top 10 cost anything?

No. There is no fee and no account to make or share a Top 10. My Vote Forward accepts no donations, sells no memberships and rules out candidate sponsorship, paid influence and pay-to-rank, so no candidate can pay for a better position or a different question. See Who funds it?.

Does a candidate need an account?

No. The Top 10 board has no accounts. Answers stay in the browser where they were made, and nothing leaves it until the candidate chooses to share. Complete the record on one device and one browser you control, from start to finish. See Fill out your Top 10.

What is in the full PDF record?

The full PDF record holds a cover, then MyPriorities, MyBudget, MyGrade, every MyOpinion question with both sides and where you stand, and an optional “In my words” for each subject. The cover carries your name, your office, the date completed and two lines: “Fill it all out, or don’t run.” and “We deserve to know.” The record is self-reported by you, with the date. See Share your record.

Is filling out a Top 10 an official vote?

No. Nothing on the Top 10 board is an official vote, and the board casts none. Official voting is a separate platform that My Vote Forward does not build. A Top 10 is a public statement of where a candidate stands. See Is this an official voting service?.

Who writes the questions?

The project writes the ten subjects and the opinion questions, publishes their exact wording and gives each question two honest sides and room for the middle. The site explains that responsibility, and how wording is kept fair, on Who writes the questions? and Who chooses the ten?. A candidate who believes a question is unfair should answer it anyway, say why in their post and send the concern through the contact page.

While you answer

What to do with a question that is hard, does not fit or does not seem to apply.

Can a candidate skip a question?

No. In “I’m running for office” mode, the board produces the full record only once every subject and every answer is complete. That is the standard. Fill it all out, or don’t run. Half a Top 10 is a non-answer, because the skipped half is where the hard choices live. Citizens may skip anything; candidates may not, because they are asking to decide for everyone. See Every subject, every answer.

What if neither side of a question fits my view?

The middle is there for exactly that. Every opinion question has two honest sides and room for the middle, so a candidate whose position sits between the two can stand there. Be ready to say what specific policy your middle answer means, and add a sentence in your post if the question’s wording does not match how you would frame the issue. See MyOpinion for officials.

What if a question does not apply to the office I am seeking?

Answer every question anyway, because the ten subjects measure judgment about public life, not the powers of one office. A school board candidate’s answers on defense show how they weigh needs against each other, and voters weight the subjects the office decides most heavily. See Every level of office.

I am an incumbent. How should I grade the government I am part of?

Grade it honestly, subject by subject, knowing your grades include your own work. A row of high grades reads as a talking point; a low grade on a subject you oversee, with a sentence on what still needs to happen, is often the most credible line in the record. See MyGrade for incumbents and challengers.

After you share

Changes, publishing, campaign use and what voters see if a candidate does not share.

Is a candidate’s answer permanent?

No. A candidate can change any answer at any time, and new evidence or changed circumstances are good reasons to. The standard is that every change is public and dated: share the new full record, say what changed and why in one sentence, and leave the earlier record up. See Changing answers.

Will My Vote Forward publish or list my Top 10?

No. A candidate publishes their own Top 10 record, on their own campaign site and accounts. The officials list on the board shows examples only, never real people, and My Vote Forward does not host candidate records. Posting on your own channels is also how voters know the record is yours. See Share your record.

Can a candidate share single cards or images instead of the full record?

No. Officials and candidates share one thing: the full PDF record of every subject and every answer. Citizens share cards and choose what to include, because their answers are their own. They have to share it all. We don’t. We aren’t running for public office. See Every subject, every answer.

Can a campaign quote its record in ads and mailers?

Yes. The record is the candidate’s own statement, and a campaign can quote it anywhere it communicates, with a link to the full PDF so voters can read every answer. Treat it like any other campaign material. For federal political committees, public communications, including committee websites available to the general public, carry a clear and conspicuous disclaimer;⁠¹ state and local campaigns follow their own state’s rules. See the campaign staff checklist.

What happens if a candidate does not share a Top 10?

Nothing is invented for them. Voters, reporters and guides show a candidate without a full record with one plain, dated label: “Has not shared a full Top 10 as of [date].” The same label applies to every party, and it changes the day a full record is shared. See Not answered yet.

Why should a candidate do this at all?

A candidate should do this because a full Top 10 is the clearest way to show voters exactly how they would represent them, on every subject, in a format voters can compare. It answers the question every voter is asking before the voter asks it. And it takes one candidate, in one debate, to say: “All my votes forward can be looked at. Nothing is hidden.” See A record, not talking points.

Unresolved questions

Two candidate questions do not have a settled answer yet.

1. Primaries and runoffs. Should a candidate who advances from a primary review and re-share their full record for the general election, even when nothing changed?
2. Write-in candidates. How can a write-in candidate’s full record reach voters who may not know the candidate is running?

Make my Top 10

Fill it all out, or don’t run. We deserve to know. Make your full Top 10 now.

I’m running for officeMake my Top 10