BallotReady organizes position and candidate research into Tiers: (1) Federal, (2) State, (3) County & Municipal, & (4) Small Town, Township & School Board within counties with populations greater than 50k and (5) Rural County and Special District
BallotReady Data Tiers are ordered based on the impact of a given race, and the level of resources required to produce accurate data. For every election we cover, we make the first three Tiers of data available by default: Federal, State, and County & Municipal.
For organizations with a more specific local focus, we can sometimes cover positions and candidates in Tiers 4, as well as the corresponding Judicial positions and candidates in each Tier. Additional hyper-local research, such as special districts and positions in more rural counties, is classified as Tier 5, and may be available on an ad-hoc basis. If you’re interested in extending your coverage to include these categories, please reach out to your Customer Success lead.
Available by Default:
(1) Federal Tier:
- All elected Federal positions and candidates
Examples Include: U.S. President, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator
(2) State Tier:
- All elected State Executive, State Legislative, and State Board positions and candidates
Examples Include: Governor, State Treasurer, State Senate, State House of Representatives, State Board of Education, Attorney General, Secretary of State
(3) County & Municipal Tier:
- All elected County-level positions and candidates nationwide.
- Municipal-level positions and candidates elected in cities with a population greater than 50,000 as of the 2020 census.
Examples Include: County Commissioner, County Executive, Mayor, City Council, City Clerk
Note: County & Municipal Tier Includes positions like City Water Commissioner, County Safety Board, City Streets and Parks Board only if they are a part of the city or county government. However, we do not include special district positions that happen to have the same name as the county or city they are nearby if they are not a part of the city or county government. For example, a position with the name of Portland Water Board may be a special taxation district that serves the area of Portland, but has no formal affiliation with the Portland City government and has different geographic boundaries. In this case, the Portland Water Board is included in Tier 5, but not included in Tier 3: County & Municipal.
Available on an Ad-Hoc Basis:
(4) Small Town, Township, & School Board Tier:
- Municipal-level positions and candidates elected within counties with a population greater than 50,000 as of the 2020 census
- Township-level positions and candidates elected within counties with a population greater than 50,000 as of the 2020 census
- School Board positions and candidates elected within counties with a population greater than 50,000 as of the 2020 census
For states with fewer than 5 counties with population above 50,000, BallotReady will cover all applicable positions and candidates elected within the top 5 most populous counties.
Examples Include: Township Mayor, Township Trustee, Township Supervisor, Local School Board, Local School District Superintendent, Township Clerk, Township Treasurer
Tier 4 Does Not Include: Community College District Board, Hospital District Board, Local Utility District Boards, Other special taxation districts.
(5) Rural County and Special District:
- Small Town, Township, School Board in Counties Below 50k
- Special Districts and Regional Boards
Tier 5 includes:
- Municipal-level positions and candidates elected within counties with a population less than 50,000 as of the 2020 census
- Township-level positions and candidates elected within counties with a population less than 50,000 as of the 2020 census
- School Board positions and candidates elected within counties with a population less than than 50,000 as of the 2020 census
- Special District positions nationwide
- Regional Board positions nationwide
Examples include: Water and Sanitation District Commissioner, Township Mayor, Township Trustee, Township Supervisor, Local School Board, Local School District Superintendent, Township Clerk, Township Treasurer, Library District Board
Tier 5 Does Not Include: Neighborhood Council, Precinct-Level Positions, Party Leadership positions (e.g., County Democratic Party Chair)
Judicial Positions:
Judicial position and candidate coverage are part of BallotReady's Tiers and could include the following categories, depending on the corresponding Tiers covered.
- Tier 2 State: All elected State Judicial positions and candidates
Examples Include: State Supreme Court, State Appellate Court
- Tier 3 County & Municipal: Regional judicial positions and candidates statewide, County judicial positions and candidates statewide, and Municipal Judicial positions and candidates elected within cities with a population greater than 50,000 as of the 2020 census
Examples Include: District Attorney, Circuit Court Judge, County Court Judge, Municipal Court Judge, County Court Magistrate, City Court Judge
- Tier 4 Small Town & Township: Municipal and Township Judicial positions and candidates elected within counties with a population greater than 50,000 as of the 2020 census
Examples Include: Local Court Judge, Justice of the Peace (Judicial)
If you have questions about BallotReady Data Tiers or want to expand your coverage, please reach out to your Customer Success Lead.
