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Voter Guide Introduction
A voter election guide is a informational tool that is used to present candidates's stances on public issues as factually and clearly as possible. It is not meant to persuade or act as campaign materials; therefore, it should be nonpartisan and unbiased. Let's define those terms.
Nonpartisan is defined as "free from party affliation, bias, or designation," according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. That means your election guide should be free from bias for or against a political party.
Bias is a predisposition or preconceived opinion that causes a person to disproportionately judge in favor of or against an idea, belief, person, group, etc. Bias is a form of prejudice, based not on facts and reason but on internal beliefs. Bias can be innate (you had it at birth) or learned.
Bias by Nick Youngson licensed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
News vs Opinion
News |
Opinion |
| The writer reports the news. People’s opinions may appear as part of that reporting (“According to Mr. Smith…”), but the writer does not explicitly present his/her own views. |
The writer shares his or her own views and explicitly seeks to persuade readers to adopt those views as their own. |
Adapted from Writing Commons (Links to an external site.) which uses a Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Types of Bias
According to the News Literacy Project, news bias is usually "incidental and debatable rather than intentional and overt," meaning news organizations are trying NOT to be biased in their news reporting. (This rule does not apply to opinion or commentary pieces which, quite intentionally, present a point of view.) Sometimes bias happens, but most reputable journalists and news organizations attempt to be accurate and fair.
Below are common types of bias in news reporting.
| Type of Bias | Definition |
| Partisan | When news coverage unfairly favors one political party, viewpoint, or group. |
| Demographic | When the demographic of the news organization and journalists affect how they present or write an article. Can be present when the newsroom staff is not diverse. |
| Corporate | When the parent company or owner affect the presentation of news stories. |
| Neutrality | Also known as "false balance" or "both sides." When something is demonstrably known (like climate change), but the news article attempts a neutral stance. |
| Big Story | When journalists lean in (focus too much) on big stories. |
| Visual | Including visuals will draw the reader's attention. Do images presented evoke specific responses? Do they prejudice the reader to view the news one way? |
These types of bias are usually presented by the following forms.
| Form of Bias | Definition |
| Absence of fairness and balance | The failure of a straight news report to present a fair and balanced representation of the event or issue. |
| Framing | The way that journalists approach and organize a story. Various types of news media bias can be expressed in how a story is framed. |
| Story selection | The process that news outlets use to decide which issues and events to cover. |
| Tone | In journalism, the use of words and phrases that affect the audience's perception of the issue or event being covered. |
| Sourcing | All of the people, organizations, documents and other providers of information that are used to put together a news report, the use of incomplete or otherwise flawed sourcing. |
Read more about the types of bias here on the Student News Daily.
Reader Bias
When you read a news story, you as the reader apply your own set of biases, and understanding those biases is important because it can color how you consume media. Let's take a look at two types of reader bias: implicit bias and confirmation bias.
Implicit Bias
Implicit bias "refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner" (The Kirwan Institute for the Student of Race and Ethnicity, The Ohio State University). Implicit bias is tricky because it is subconscious! You can profess to believe one thing, but in actuality you do, say, or gravitate toward something else.
Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias is the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one’s existing beliefs" (Encyclopedia Britannica). Sometimes people will only search for information that agrees with them, defends their beliefs, or affirms their preconceived notions; that is confirmation bias. This is a easy bias to fall prey to while researching for academic papers. Remember, don't just seek out information that agrees with you! You will need to find information that disagrees with you, too. Think of it this way, how can you argue for something if you don't know what the detractors are saying?
Evaluating Bias Examples
- The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheetby David A. Graham, from The Atlantic
- Corporations Step Into Gun Control Voidby Scott Wong and Mike Lillis, from The Hill
- Walmart Takes a Meaningless Stand for Gun Controlby Kimberly Ross, Washington Examiner
- Walmart to Stop Selling Some Types of Ammunitionby the Associated Press, from the Guardian
- What Walmart's Gun Control Move Says About Americaby Brandon Tensley, CNN
Find Out Who's on the Ballot
- BallotpediaBallotpedia is the online encyclopedia of American politics and elections. Its goal is to inform people about politics by providing accurate and objective information about politics at all levels of government. It is firmly committed to neutrality.
What's the Source?
In order to present unbiased information, you need to use objective and factual sources. Stick with authoritative, non-partisan sources like the ones below. You may also obtain information from the candidate's website, but stick to facts -- a candidate's website is always partisan and biased.
- BallotpediaBallotpedia is the online encyclopedia of American politics and elections. Its goal is to inform people about politics by providing accurate and objective information about politics at all levels of government. It is firmly committed to neutrality.
Writing Your Voter Election Guide
Once you have all the information about the candidates' platform, it is time to write. Keep these things in mind:
- When using images, make sure all images are similar. That means that both photos should be color or black and white, or both should be in a professional setting, etc. Photos should be the same size as well.
- Give each candidate the same amount of text space.
- Cover the same number of issues. If you discuss the candidate's views on the environment, then do so for the other candidate as well.
- Watch your language.
- Stick with "opposes" or "supports" to describe their stance.
- Do NOT say "think" or "believe." Voting records, if available for an issue, is a good way to confirm what a candidate supports or opposes.
- Do NOT use adjectives! Your summary of their platform should be straightforward and succinct.
- Refer to the AP Style Guide for information on what term to use for current issues/topics.
A sample voter election guide, created by PVCC political science and journalism students, is available as a guide.
Designing a Voter Election Guide
Here are some links for your reference. Find information on language, layout, and visuals. Enjoy!
- Election Design Field GuidesEstablished in 1998, AIGA Design for Democracy applies design tools and thinking to increase civic participation by making interactions between the U.S. government and its citizens more understandable, efficient and trustworthy. Independent, pragmatic and committed to the public good, Design for Democracy collaborates with researchers, designers and policy-makers in service of public sector clients and AIGA’s goal of “demonstrating the value of design by doing valuable things.”
- United States Election Assistance Commission: Designing Polling Place MaterialsEAC provides the following best practices report and samples for the design of ballots and polling place materials. Legislative guidelines, design principals and research with election officials, voters, poll workers, and other experts inform these resources.