A record, not talking points: why a full Top 10 says more than a platform page

A full Top 10 record tells voters more than a talking point or a platform page because it covers every subject, in the same format for every candidate, and it forces an order, a tradeoff and a side. A platform page shows the subjects a campaign chose to talk about. A talking point is written to be agreed with. A full record shows where a candidate stands on all of it, and a voter can set it beside any other candidate’s record in a few minutes.

What does a platform page leave out?

A platform page leaves out the subjects a campaign chose not to cover, and those are often the ones voters most need. A campaign decides which issue pages to build, and it builds them around its strengths: the subjects that fit the candidate’s story and the district. A voter who cares about a subject missing from that list learns nothing from it.

A platform page also leaves out proportion. Six issue pages of equal length do not say which issue comes first, how much money each deserves or what would be cut to pay for it. Every page is a priority, so none of them is.

A full Top 10 record fills both gaps. All ten subjects are in it, and MyPriorities puts them in a single order, with the issues inside each subject in order too. A platform page is still useful for detail, and the strongest campaigns post both: the record as the summary, the issue pages as the depth. See Share your record.

What makes a talking point different from a record?

A talking point is different from a record because it is written to avoid a choice, and a record exists to hold one. “I will fight for safer streets and better schools” names two goals and no tradeoff. Every candidate in every party can say it, which is why it tells voters so little.

Each part of the Top 10 asks for a choice that a talking point skips:

• MyPriorities asks for an order. Safer streets or better schools, which comes first?
• MyBudget asks for a tradeoff. Out of a fixed $1 billion, how much goes to each, and what gets less? See MyBudget for officials.
• MyGrade asks for an assessment. How is the government doing on each one now, from 0 to 10?
• MyOpinion asks where you stand. On each specific question, which side, or the middle? See MyOpinion for officials.

A candidate can still explain any answer in “In my words,” the optional statement for each subject. The record makes sure there is an answer to explain.

Why isn’t a voting record enough?

A voting record is not enough because it covers only the questions that reached a vote, and only for people already in office. The House Clerk publishes roll call votes that can be searched by Congress, session, bill and date,⁠¹ and that public record matters. It tells voters how a member voted on the bills leadership brought to the floor. It does not show what the member would have prioritized, how they would split a budget or where they stand on questions that never got a vote.

A voting record also says nothing about challengers, who have none. A full Top 10 record puts the incumbent and the challenger on the same ten subjects and the same questions, so voters can compare them directly. Read together, the record and the voting record are stronger than either alone: the Top 10 says what a candidate intends, and the record shows what an incumbent did. See MyGrade for incumbents and challengers.

Why does the same format matter so much?

The same format matters because comparison is how voters decide, and comparison needs answers that line up. When every candidate answers the same ten subjects, the same $1 billion, the same 0 to 10 scale and the same questions, a voter can lay two records side by side and see every difference at a glance. Two platform pages written by two campaigns, in their own structure and words, cannot be compared that way.

The same format also protects candidates. A candidate who shares a full record is judged on the same questions as their opponent, not on whichever questions a hostile interviewer chooses. See Same cards for everyone.

Why do candidate promises deserve this much attention?

Candidate promises deserve this much attention because they can become law. USAGov lists a proposal made during a congressional candidate’s election campaign as one of the places the idea for a bill can come from, alongside sitting members and petitions from citizens.⁠² What a candidate commits to before the vote is the first draft of what they may do after it.

A full Top 10 record is the most complete first draft a voter can ask for: every subject, in order, with the money, the grades and where the candidate stands. Talking points describe the candidate a campaign wants voters to see. The record describes the representative voters would be getting.

Unresolved questions

Two questions about Top 10 records and other campaign materials are still open.

1. Linking the two. What is the clearest way for a campaign to link each subject in its record to the matching issue page, so a voter can move from the summary to the depth?
2. Records for local offices. How can voters find recorded votes for city councils and school boards as easily as the House roll call?

Make my Top 10

Fill it all out, or don’t run. We deserve to know. Make your Top 10 now, and if you are on the ballot, show voters the full record.

Make my Top 10I’m running for office