Every official and every candidate, from the U.S. Senate to the local school board, fills out the same ten cards. The cards measure a candidate’s judgment about public life, and judgment does not change size with the office. What changes is how voters read them: the subjects a seat decides directly carry the most weight, and the rest show how the candidate thinks. This page walks through each level and what the cards mean there.
Which offices does the Top 10 standard cover?
The Top 10 standard covers every elected office that makes laws, sets budgets or runs a government, at the federal, state and local levels. USAGov groups the people who represent you the same way: federal officials such as the president, U.S. senators and representatives; state officials such as governors and legislators; and local officials such as mayors, county executives and city, county and town officials.1 Many state and local governments mirror the federal design, with legislative officials who make laws, executive officials who carry them out, and judicial officials.2
The Census Bureau’s description of local government organizes it by type: county, municipal, township, school district and special district governments, and each state arranges these differently.3 A candidate for any of them can fill out the same ten cards.
Candidates for judge follow their state’s judicial conduct rules about what they may say on issues that could come before them. The standard on this page is written for offices that make laws, budgets and policy.
What do the ten cards mean for federal offices?
For federal offices, the ten cards line up closely with the job. Congress drafts laws, reviews the budget and confirms nominations, and the president leads the executive branch.4 A federal candidate’s MyBudget is a direct statement about the national budget fights they will join, and their MyOpinion answers on defense, immigration and the economy describe votes they are likely to cast.
Voters read a federal record whole. Every subject touches federal law somewhere, from school funding to transit grants. The subject pages show where: Defense and foreign affairs: who decides and Immigration and citizenship: who decides are the most federal of the ten.
What do the ten cards mean for state offices?
For state offices, the ten cards cover the level of government that holds the largest share of power over daily life. State legislatures act as each state’s lawmaking body, much like Congress,2 and governors lead the state executive. States carry the main duty for public schools, set most criminal law and run large parts of health care, transport and elections.
A state candidate’s MyGrade is especially telling, because the state is often the government being graded. The subject pages show the state role in detail: Education: who decides, Safety and justice: who decides and Health and care: who decides.
What do the ten cards mean for county and city offices?
For county and city offices, the ten cards meet the subjects where people feel them every day. County council members make laws and policies that affect local budgets, zoning, land use and tax rates.2 Mayors and county executives run the services residents use: streets, water, parks, policing and permits.
A city council candidate’s MyBudget and MyOpinion on Housing and communities and Infrastructure and transport are close to the votes they will cast on zoning and road budgets. Their answers on defense or immigration show their wider judgment and their priorities when the city speaks to the state and federal governments.
What do the ten cards mean for school boards?
For school boards, the ten cards show whether a candidate sees schools in the context of everything else a community needs. School district governments are their own type of government in the Census Bureau’s classification,3 and boards decide budgets, calendars, hiring and much of what happens in classrooms within state rules.
A school board candidate’s answers on Education carry the most weight. Their full record still matters. A board member who ranks education first and gives it most of the $1 billion has said something different from one who ranks it first and spreads the money widely, and both answers help voters understand how that person will weigh a school budget against the rest of the community’s needs. Many school board races are nonpartisan, and the same cards apply in exactly the same way.
Why does every level answer every subject?
Every level answers every subject because the subjects cross every level. Education is shaped by federal law, state funding formulas and local boards. Transport runs on federal grants, state highways and city streets. A candidate’s full record shows how they think about the whole, and a voter who reads candidates for three different offices on the same ten cards can see who agrees with whom across the ballot.
The other reason is fairness. A school board candidate asked to answer only on education is held to a lighter standard than a congressional candidate, and voters lose the comparison. The same ten cards for every office is the same rule for everyone. See Every subject, every answer.
How should voters read records from different levels of office?
Voters should read records from different levels of office with the office in mind: weight the subjects a seat decides directly, and read the rest as the candidate’s judgment. A three step reading works for any office.
- Find the subjects the office decides. Use the “who decides” page for each subject. For a city council seat, housing and infrastructure come first.
- Read those subjects closely. Their place in MyPriorities, their MyBudget share, their MyGrade and every MyOpinion answer on those subjects describe likely votes.
- Read the rest for judgment. The other subjects show priorities, tradeoffs and how the candidate weighs one need against another.
The Ask your officials guide shows how to reach officials at every level.
What My Vote Forward can and cannot do here
My Vote Forward gives officials at every level the same ten cards; it does not decide which level should handle which subject.
Can:
- Offer one full record to every office, federal, state and local.
- Link each subject to a page explaining which level of government decides what.
- Explain how voters can read a record with the office in mind.
Does not:
- Rank offices, levels of government or candidates.
- Endorse anyone, at any level, or run official votes. Official voting is a separate platform My Vote Forward does not build.
- Give legal advice about any office’s powers. The “who decides” pages cite the law, and each state arranges its governments differently.3
Unresolved questions
Two questions about offices and levels are still open.
- Appointed officials. Should appointed officials who hold real power, such as some county executives,1 be asked for a full Top 10 the same way as elected ones?
- Special districts. How should voters reach candidates for special districts, such as water or transit boards, whose races get little attention?
Sources
Government sources cited on this page, opened and checked on October 29, 2026.
- USAGov, U.S. General Services Administration, “Find and contact elected officials,” last updated March 2, 2026. usa.gov/elected-officials
- USAGov, U.S. General Services Administration, “State and local elections.” usa.gov/state-local-elections
- U.S. Census Bureau, “Individual State Descriptions: 2022 Census of Governments,” April 30, 2024. census.gov/…
- USAGov, U.S. General Services Administration, “Branches of the U.S. government.” usa.gov/branches-of-government
Make my Top 10
Fill it all out, or don’t run. We deserve to know. Make your Top 10 now, and on any ballot, at any level, make the full record.
