State Chaptervoter Information Guide Training

State ChapterVoter Information Guide Training

Page
About / 2
Research / 2
Voter Guide Questions / 3
Citations / 4
Grades/Methodology / 5
Distribution / 5
Website Button / 6
Voter Guide Template / 7
Press Release Template / 13
Candidate Questionnaire Template / 14

About

During a time when secular values are under constant attack by many politicians it is incredibly important that voters know where political candidates stand. The Secular Coalition for America has previously published candidate Secular Voter Guidesat the federal and state level, as well as Congressional Report Cardswhich offer a snapshot of each U.S. Representative's voting record on various issues important to secular communities.

Our Voter Guides are designed to give constituents a well-rounded assessment of each candidate’s ability to represent secular values. However, each year there are hundreds of races across the country. In order to keep up, the Secular Coalition supports its state chapters in publishing voter guides at the state and local levels on races the national organization has not already completed voter guidesfor including but not limited to:

Municipal races
State Representative races
State Senate races
U.S. Congressional races
U.S. Senate races
Gubernatorial races

Voter guides produced by state chapters are required to follow the guidelines outlined in this guide.

Research

The process for compiling information for candidates differs depending on whether the candidate has previously held office or not.

Previous Office Holders -For those who have previously held office, it’s import to check their voting record. Voting records demonstrate how the candidate has voted in the past and can be used demonstrate their position on an issue they’ve made no public statements on, or to either support--or contrast with-- public statements the candidate has made.

“Newbie” Candidates– If the candidate has never held public office, we must rely solely on their public statements, the information provided on their websites, direct candidate responses and other public indications of their opinions.

When researching online, look for sites that compile voting records, issue positions and public statements.

Some suggestions:

ontheissues.org
votesmart.org
govtrack.us (track and research issue-based legislation)
ballotpedia.org (issues-based research)
Candidates’ campaign websites (hint: “about”and “issues” sections)
Candidates’social media pages
SCA’s Congressional Report Cards and Voter Guides
Local, state and national newspapers
Credible local political blogs (i.e. politicspa.com in Pennsylvania)

It is important to evaluate the credibility of information obtained online and discard information obtained from questionable sources. When possible, verify the information you’ve found for accuracy.

Tips:

Town halls, debates, candidate events and other local election-related events are great places to ask candidates questions directly. When asking a candidate questions, it’s always best to identify you as a representative of the SCA state chapter, although anything a candidate says publicly can be used in the voter guide with proper citation.
In smaller races, candidates may take the time to respond directly to questionnaires or questions asked of them on social media. It doesn’t hurt to ask—just be sure to properly identify yourself and be professional.

When conducting online research, use Boolean searches. There are many guides online to Boolean searching effectively. Here is a quick easy guide.

Voter Guide Questions

The following questions have been compiled to touch on all of the major issues the Secular Coalition takes a stance on relating to the place of religion in government for each candidate. All state chapter produced voter guides should follow the below set of standard questions.

If you are unable to determine an answer for any of the candidates for a given question, you can chose to remove that question from your voter guide.

What role would religion play in the candidate's decision making in his or her role as a U.S. Representative?
Does the candidate view America is a Christian nation, a secular nation or neither?
Does the candidate believe that either a belief in God or an affiliation with religion is a necessary precursor for morality?
Does the candidate support a mutual separation between religion and government?
What is the candidate's definition of religious freedom?
Does the candidate support a science based curriculum in public schools and reject the use of public funding of religious schools or religiously-based curriculums?
Does the candidate support the use of public funding for religiously-affiliated organizations such as faith-based initiatives, to provide services?
Does the candidate support social policies that do not discriminate based on religion, such as marriage equality, and non-discrimination in adoption policies, the military and hiring practices at faith based organizations receiving public funds?
Does the candidate believe government sanctioned religious symbolism is appropriate? (Examples including prayer in legislative sessions and public schools, religious symbols on government property.)
Does the candidate support scientifically based regulations including science surrounding reproduction, climate change, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning, and reject abstinence-only sex education?
Would the candidate use his or her religious beliefs to determine public health care policy as it relates to governing access to certain legal procedures or drugs?
Does the candidate support protecting individual employees from being fired or disciplined, if they refuse to provide legal products or services, or otherwise fail to complete the general duties of their job, based on their personal religious beliefs?
Does the candidate support the exemption of religious institutions (i.e. childcare providers, hospitals, colleges, etc.) from complying with generally applicable health and safety laws?

Citations

Chapters can use the citation method most comfortable to them: MLA or Chicago Manual of Style, as long as the citation style is consistent throughout the guide.

Example of an appropriate answer and basic citation:

Determining Grades/Methodology

Individual Question Response Grades

Each candidate will receive a grade for his/her answer(s) to each question and then a final/overall grade which is an average of the grades received for each question.

For each question the candidate’s responses are evaluated to produce a letter grade based on the below scale. For the purposes of this voter guide “positive” answers are those that fall in line with the SCA’s position on the issues, “negative” responses are those that do not.

The letter grades given for each question are each worth a set number of points, which will be used to calculate a final grade.

A: Candidate’s responses were generally or consistently positive (3 points)
B: Mixed but mostly positive (2 points)
C: Mixed, both positive & negative responses (1 point)
F: Generally or consistently hostile or negative (0 points)
N/A: unable to identify position/not enough info (not factored into Final Average)

Overall Candidate Grades

To compile a candidate’s final score, add the points earned for each question together and average them to obtain an overall/final score. Do not factor N/A answers into final score.

Candidates for whom we are unable to identify positions for at least 50% of the questions must be given a final grade of N/A. Once the candidate’s scores have been averaged, use the following scale to determine a final grade:

A = 2.25 – 3.0
B = 1.50 – 2.24
C = 0.75 – 1.49
F = 0.0 – 0.74

Distribution

When your voter guide is complete, you’ll want to distribute it via several methods:

FIRST: Share with the Secular Coalition for America (we will add to secular.org)
Add to “Resources”section of your state chapter website (You can resize/use the below button)
Send a press release (see press release template below and follow additional guidelines set forth in the State Chapter Media Training Guide in the Resources section of secular.org)
Promote on your chapter’s social media platforms

Voter Guide Template

[remove red text and make other changes as necessary, including election information, candidates’ photos, names/positions, dates, state chapter logo, chapter information/website, etc]

Massachusetts

Special State Primary

5th Congressional District

October 15, 2013

THE CANDIDATES

/ WILLIAM N. BROWNSBERGER
(Democrat)
State Senator; Former State Representative, Selectman / / CARL M., SCIORTINO JR.
(Democrat)
State Representative
/ KATHERINE M. CLARK
(Democrat)
State Senator; Former State Representative / / KAREN E. SPILKA
(Democrat)
State Senator; Former State Representative, School Committee Member
/ PETER J. KOUTOUJIAN
(Democrat)
Former Assistant District Attorney, State Representative; Middlesex Sheriff / / FRANK JOHN ADDIVINOLA, JR. (Republican)
Attorney
/ MARTIN LONG
(Democrat)
Former Lexington School Committee Member, Town Meeting Member / / MICHAEL P. STOPA
(Republican)
Physicist
/ PAUL JOHN MAISANO
(Democrat) / / TOM TIERNEY (Republican)
Actuary, Veteran

2013 Massachusetts

SENATE CANDIDATE VOTER GUIDE

ADDIVINOLA / BROWNSBERGER / CLARK / KOUTOUJIAN / LONG / MAISANO / SCIORTINO / STOPA / SPILKA / TIERNEY
1. What role would religion play in the candidate's decision making in his or her role as Governor of Massachusetts? Does the candidate support a mutual separation between religion and government?
2. Does the candidate support a science based curriculum in public schools and reject the use of public funding of religious schools or religiously-based curriculums?
3. Does the candidate support social policies that do not discriminate based on religion, such as marriage equality?
4. Does the candidate support scientifically based regulations including science surrounding reproduction, stem cell research, climate change and other issues?
FINAL GRADE
Key:
Candidate’s remarks and/or actions toward the Secular Coalition’s stances have been:
A: / Generally or consistently positive.
B: / Mixed but majority positive.
C: / Mixed, with positive and negative responses.
F: / Generally or consistently hostile or negative.
N/A: / At the time of publication, the Secular Coalition for America was unable to verify the candidate’s position or did not have enough information to rate the candidate.

INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATE RESPONSES

[each question should follow the below format of question 1, including appropriate chart showing each candidate’s grades, followed by the candidates’ individual responses to the questions].

1. What role would religion play in the candidate's decision making in his or her role as Governor of Massachusetts? Does the candidate support a mutual separation between religion and government?

ADDIVINOLA:
BROWNSBERGER:
CLARK:
KOUTOUJIAN:
LONG:
MAISANO:
SCIORTINO:
STOPA:
SPILKA:
TIERNEY:

2. Does the candidate support a science-based curriculum in public schools and reject the use of public funding of religious schools or religiously-based curriculums?

ADDIVINOLA:
BROWNSBERGER:
CLARK:
KOUTOUJIAN:
LONG:
MAISANO:
SCIORTINO:
STOPA:
SPILKA:
TIERNEY:

3. Does the candidate support social policies that do not discriminate based on religion, such as marriage equality?

ADDIVINOLA:
BROWNSBERGER:
CLARK:
KOUTOUJIAN:
LONG:
MAISANO:
SCIORTINO:
STOPA:
SPILKA:
TIERNEY:

4. Does the candidate support scientifically based regulations including science surrounding reproduction, stem cell research, climate change and other issues?

ADDIVINOLA:
BROWNSBERGER:
CLARK:
KOUTOUJIAN:
LONG:
MAISANO:
SCIORTINO:
STOPA:
SPILKA:
TIERNEY:

Methodology

Candidates were graded only on questions for which the Secular Coalition was able to identify the candidates' position—either through statements or previous actions. For each response, the candidates were given a grade of A, B, C or F. An "A" grade earned the candidate 3 points, "B" earned 2 points, "C" earned 1 point and an “F” earned 0 points. Grades of "N/A" indicate that the Secular Coalition was unable to identify the candidate's position on the given topic. The grades were averaged for a total. N/A grades were not factored into the candidate's score.

Averages were compiled on the following scale:

A = 2.25 – 3.0

B = 1.50 – 2.24

C = 0.75 – 1.49

F = 0.0 – 0.74

The Secular Coalition for America is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization whose purpose is to amplify the diverse and growing voice of the nontheistic community in the United States. The Secular Coalition represents 11 member organizations, more than 127 endorsing organizations and millions of Americans who support a firm separation of religion and government. The Secular Coalition for America lobbies at the federal level, in Washington, D.C. and state chapters lobby at the state level.

The Secular Coalition for Massachusetts is an established state chapter of the Secular Coalition for America, which lobbies state lawmakers on behalf of secular Americans in Massachusetts. For more information on the Secular Coalition for Massachusetts, visit

PRESS RELEASE [TEMPLATE]

Atheists Grade Massachusetts Congressional Candidates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 1, 2013

Springfield, Mass. – The Secular Coalition for Massachusetts yesterday released its 2013 Massachusetts Special Election Candidate Voter guide for the upcoming election Congressional election. The guide is meant to assist secular-minded Massachusettsians in making an informed decision on the candidates.

The voter guide grades the 10 candidates—Republican and Democratic—vying for the 5th District Congressional seat on October 15. The candidates received the following grades:

Secular Coalition for America – State Chapter Voter Guide Training/Templates [2014]

FRANK JOHN ADDIVINOLA, JR. - F

WILLIAM N. BROWNSBERGER - A
KATHERINE M. CLARK - A
PETER J. KOUTOUJIAN – N/A
MARTIN LONG – N/A
PAUL JOHN MAISANO – N/A
CARL M., SCIORTINO JR. - A
KAREN E. SPILKA – A
MICHAEL P. STOPA – N/A
TOM TIERNEY - B

Secular Coalition for America – State Chapter Voter Guide Training/Templates [2014]

The candidates were scored on their answers to four topics relating to separation of church and state issues.

“We are pleased to have several strong candidates in Massachusetts,” said Jennifer Maxwell, co-chair of the Secular Coalition for Massachusetts. “But no matter who is elected the Secular Coalition and our state chapter in Massachusetts will work to educate and unify lawmakers on both sides of the aisle behind our country’s core secular founding principles.”

A recent Pew Forum study indicated that a full 40 percent of Massachusetts [include relavent info for your state]residents do not express an absolute belief in God, and a majority of Massachusetts residents—60 percent—disagreed that “religion is very important to their lives.” In fact, when it comes to this question, Massachusetts is one of the least religious states, outranked only by Alaska, New Hampshire and Vermont. Another Pew study found that the majority of Americans (54%) say that churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters, and 38% says that there has been too much expression of religious faith and prayer from political leaders – a number that has grown to its highest point since the Pew Research Center began asking the question more than a decade ago.

"The separation of religion and government affects all of us in a positive way--including protecting the religious from having another's brand of religion imposed on them,” Maxwell said. “These secular values are particularly important to remember and protect at the state level, where we’re seeing some of the most egregious legislation in state capitals across the country.” [include quotes from your own chapter leaders]

The Secular Coalition for Massachusetts published the voter guide in conjunction with the Secular Coalition for America. The Secular Coalition for Massachusetts is an established state chapter of the Secular Coalition, which lobbies state lawmakers on behalf of secular Americans in Massachusetts.

Contact: Jennifer Maxwell, Co-chair of the Secular Coalition for Massachusetts, cell: (123)456-7890, email: . [include your group’s information]

[CANDIDATE QUESTIONAIRE TEMPLATE- REMOVE THIS TEXT]

[INSERT YEAR AND ELECTION/RACE] Candidate Questionnaire

Please attach additional sheets as needed for extra response space. Return by [INSERT DATE] to: Secular Coalition for [INSERT STATE CHAPTER], [INSERT MAILING ADDRESS], [PHONE], [EMAIL]

[WEBSITE]

I. Government and Values

What best describes your view of America today:
A Christian nation with no constitutional guarantee of a mutual separation of church and state
 A Christian nation that allows others to practice freely as long as the rights of the majority are not infringed
A pluralistic nation with a secular government and a constitutionally mandated separation of church and state
 A non-religious nation
 Other ______
Please explain: ______

Do you believe that either a belief in God or an affiliation with religion is a necessary precursor for morality?
 Yes  No
Please explain: ______

Do you support a mutual separation between religion and government?
 Yes  No
Please explain what this means to you:______
What role would religion play in your decision making as [INSERT DESIRED TITLE/POSITION]?
______

What is your definition of religious freedom?

______

II. Health and Safety

Please check yes, no, or not sure for each of the topics below. Include additional comments in the space provided following the chart regarding health and safety standards.

Do you support: / Yes / No / Not sure
Protecting individual employees from being fired or disciplined, if they refuse to provide legal products or services, or otherwise fail to complete the general duties of their job, based on their personal religious beliefs?
The exemption of religious institutions (i.e. childcare providers, hospitals, colleges, private businesses, etc.) from complying with generally applicable health and safety laws?
The use of religious beliefs to determine public health care policy as it relates to governing access to certain legal procedures or drugs?
Permitting parents to withhold medical care for their minor children based on the parents’ religious beliefs?

Further explanation:______

______

Would you use your religious beliefs to determine public health care policy as it relates to governing access to certain legal procedures or drugs?

 Yes  No
Please explain what this means to you:

______

III. Education

Do you support a science based curriculum in public schools that teaches students the theory of “Evolution by Natural Selection” and excludes the teaching of religious theories such as “Creationism” or “Intelligent Design”?
 Yes  No
Please explain: ______
Do you support an abstinence-only sex education curriculum in public schools?
 Yes  No
Please explain: ______
Do you support exemptions for discrimination or bullying toward nontheist or LGBT students, when those actions are based on “sincerely held religious beliefs”?
 Yes  No
Please explain: ______

IV. Taxes