MyOpinion for officials: two honest sides and room for the middle

MyOpinion asks every official and candidate to answer every opinion question on every subject, and each question has two honest sides and room for the middle. The right answer is the one closest to the policy you would actually support. The middle is a real answer when you mean it, and a full set of middles reads as avoiding the question. A MyOpinion answer states where you stand. It is not a vote in office, and voters read the two together.

What does a MyOpinion question look like?

A MyOpinion question names a specific issue within a subject and sets two honest positions against each other, with room for the middle between them. A housing question, for example, can set “Limit how fast rents can rise” against “Let rents follow the market so more gets built.” Both sides are positions that serious people hold, worded so that neither is a straw man.

Each question is two positions with room between them, not a yes or no. A candidate can take either side or stand in the middle, and where they stand is the answer. Inside each subject, MyPriorities puts the issues in order and MyOpinion records where you stand on each one. The Opinions chapter explains why an opinion is always an answer to a specific, worded question.

How should a candidate choose where to stand?

A candidate should stand where they are closest to the policy they would actually support if it came to a vote in their office. Ask: if a bill or budget item matching one side reached me tomorrow, what would I do? The answer to that question is the honest MyOpinion answer.

Tips for answering:

• Answer the question as worded. If you would answer a slightly different question, say so in your post, and still answer this one.
• Start with the hardest question. Answer it first, while you are fresh, and come back to the easier ones.
• Let your answers differ from your party’s where they do. The answers where a candidate departs from the usual party line are the ones voters most want to see. Explain each in a sentence.
• Do not split the difference to avoid an argument. Voters will ask about the middle answers as often as the strong ones.

When is the middle a real answer?

The middle is a real answer when a candidate supports a specific position between the two sides and can say what it is. “I would limit rent increases for existing tenants and allow new construction to rent at market rates” is a real middle. It takes something from each side and gives up something from each.

The middle is not a real answer when it means “I would rather not say.” A full set of middles tells voters that the candidate is not willing to take sides on anything, and in “I’m running for office” mode a complete record of middles is still a complete record. The standard is met on paper and missed in spirit. A candidate who stands in the middle on a question should be ready to name the specific position they mean.

How is a MyOpinion answer different from a vote in office?

A MyOpinion answer is different from a vote in office because it states a position on a worded question before any bill exists, while a recorded vote is a decision on a specific bill at a specific time. Legislatures record votes publicly; the House Clerk publishes roll call votes that can be searched by bill and date.⁠¹ Those votes are official acts. A Top 10 is a statement of where a candidate stands, shared by choice, and it casts no official vote of any kind.

Voters read the two together. Where an incumbent’s MyOpinion answers and their recorded votes line up, the record carries weight. Where they differ, the candidate should explain why: a bill can bundle several issues, or arrive in a form the candidate could not support. The Private voting chapter explains why a citizen’s ballot stays secret while an official’s recorded vote is public.

Why should a candidate answer every opinion question?

A candidate should answer every opinion question because the unanswered ones are where voters most need to know. Ideas for laws come from many places, including proposals made during congressional campaigns,⁠² and the questions a candidate leaves blank are the ones most likely to arrive later without warning. In “I’m running for office” mode, the board produces the full record only when every question on every subject has an answer. The full argument is on Every subject, every answer.

Who writes the questions, and what if a question seems unfair?

The project writes the opinion questions, publishes their exact wording and works to give each one two honest sides. The site sets out that responsibility and its limits on Who writes the questions?. A candidate who believes a question is worded unfairly should still answer it, say why in their post, and send the concern through the contact page. A clear objection on the record improves the question for every candidate.

How should voters read an official’s opinions?

Voters should read an official’s opinions by looking for three things: where they stand on the subjects they rank highest, where they depart from their party, and how many answers sit at the exact middle. Then compare with another candidate in the same race, question by question. Two candidates who rank the same subject first can still split on its questions, and that split is often where a race is decided. See Same cards for everyone.

Unresolved questions

Two questions about MyOpinion for officials are still open.

1. Room for a reason. Should the record carry a short reason beside each opinion, or is one “In my words” statement per subject the right amount?
2. Middles with meaning. How can a candidate show that a middle answer is a specific position, not a pass, in a way voters can see in the record?

Make my Top 10

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

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