BallotReady organizes position and candidate research into Tiers.
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 cover positions and candidates in Tier 4 and Tier 5 (described below) as an add-on. If you’re interested in extending your coverage to include either of these Tiers, 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 4, but not included in Tier 3.
Available as an Add-On:
(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
- Special District and Regional Board positions and candidates elected within counties with a population greater than 50,000 as of the 2020 census This is an update as of August 2024.
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, Library District Board, Water District Board, Parks and Recreation District Board.
(5) Rural County and Special District:
- Small Town, Township, School Board positions and candidates in counties below 50k
- Special Districts and Regional Boards in Counties Below 50k
Examples include: Water and Sanitation District Commissioner, Township Mayor, Township Trustee, Township Supervisor, Local School Board, Local School District Superintendent, Township Clerk, Township Treasurer
Tier 5 Does Not Include: Neighborhood Council, Precinct-Level Positions, Party Leadership positions (e.g., County Democratic Party Chair)
If you have questions about BallotReady Data Tiers or want to expand your coverage, please reach out to your Customer Success Lead.
