BallotReady helps partners draft questionnaires, send them to candidates, and display them on their voter guide. Read on for an overview of our process.
Step 1: Questionnaire display
Before sending your questionnaire, you’ll want to decide on whether or not you’d like to use the questionnaire matrix or our classic display. The matrix necessitates a yes/no question structure. If you opt to use the matrix display, you will still be able to click through to candidate profiles and see our classic view (as seen in the second screenshot).
Step 2: Question submission
Partners submit their questions via Google Sheet template provided by BallotReady. You can create different questions for different races, and BallotReady will create one central Google Form. You can assign custom category headers to questions (“Immigration”, “Economic Development”), or BallotReady can assign them for you.
Step 3: Questionnaire form creation
BallotReady creates a form for partners to send to candidates. Through the form, candidates are shown their relevant race and associated questions.
Step 4: Questionnaire form dissemination
BallotReady provides emails of candidates to partners to send out the questionnaire form. We have found that it is more effective for questionnaires to come from the organization candidates are familiar with and trust in order to solicit as many responses as possible. Questionnaire answers populate in a Google Sheet.
Step 5: Answer upload
After the deadline for submissions, BallotReady bulk uploads your candidates' answers. You can view candidate responses through the CivicEngine Manage platform, and you can update or add additional responses to CivicEngine Manage as needed.
If you have questions about the questionnaire process or are interested in adding a questionnaire to your Civic Center, please reach out to your Customer Success Lead.