League of Women Voters surveying 275 Wisconsin candidates

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin has sent questionnaires to 275 candidates running for state Legislature and Congress.

“The best government is one with strong participation by informed and active citizens,” said Andrea Kaminski, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. “It’s the League’s mission to help voters make well-informed choices in our elections. We call on all candidates to participate in the VOTE411 voter guide, so voters will know where they stand on the issues.”

The league sent the questionnaire to all candidates, regardless of whether their names will be on the ballot in the Aug. 9 primary.

All candidates have the same deadline of July 6.

“We are barraged everyday during election season with ads produced by political campaigns and independent groups, and Wisconsin doesn’t have good laws requiring disclosure of the funding sources behind the independent communications,” Kaminski said in a news release. “Our best advice for voters is to be skeptical of 30-second ads and instead rely on other sources for information about the candidates. VOTE411.org is one place where voters will be able to read candidates’ views in their own words.”

Voters also are encouraged to attend candidate forums sponsored by the league and other nonpartisan groups.

“There is no better indicator of a candidate’s ability to think independently and interact with others than when he or she stands in front of an audience of citizens and answers tough questions,” Kaminski said.

The league will publish the candidates’ answers online at VOTE411.org in mid-July for those candidates whose names will be on the primary ballot.

The league will change the guide after the primary to include the responses from the candidates that advanced to the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

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