Commentary: Taylor Swift encouraged us to do election research. But how?

I’m an independent who has voted for Democrats and Republicans over the years, and what I appreciated most about Taylor Swift’s presidential endorsement was that she didn’t tell people what to think or who to vote for. What she did do was outline a thoughtful process and share where she came out.

What Swift didn’t include was how we can do the same. She’s certainly right that “now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics.” I also agree with her that “your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.” But how do we actually put that advice into practice?

Let’s get real — we’re all busy with our daily lives and not planning to become policy wonks before casting a ballot. To address this challenge, I’ve outlined a straightforward voter research process. It’s a nonpartisan way to avoid being a low information/”vibes” voter and become more informed going into this important election.

Here are the five steps:

1. Decide what really matters to you. This is something that no one else should do for you — no candidate, no party, no social media influencer, no family member or dear friend. This is where you need to go deep and determine, as Swift puts it, which candidate “fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”

She made her causes clear in her endorsement post, but what matters are yours. Top issues among American voters include the economy, health care, abortion, foreign policy, guns, inequality, crime and climate change. A recent Pew Research poll showed that most Kamala Harris and Donald Trump supporters have at least five priority issues, so don’t feel you need to pick just one.

2. Find out where the candidates stand on what you care about most. The media should make this much easier than it is, but they spend too much time on the latest poll numbers and clickbait controversies. So you’ll need to do some digging on your own, but I’ll help by highlighting a few sources that are nonpartisan and feature information directly from the candidates themselves.

Ballotpedia is a very rich election resource and includes lots of data on candidate policy positions. It can be a lot to wade through, but if you just focus on your top issues it’s very helpful. Another good resource is ProCon, which has an easy to understand table with links if you want to go deeper. The last one I’ll mention is the National Voter’s Guide by Guides.Vote. Its wording feels left of center at times, but it has a well-designed layout and links to all candidate quotes and positions.

3. Find out what nonpartisan sources think about the impact the candidates’ policies are likely to have. Here I’m just going to unleash you on the search engines. Only you know the issues that most matter to you. Simple searches like “which candidate would be better for the economy” will deliver lots of information and perspectives. I’d recommend ignoring the spin from either campaign and their known media cheerleaders, and instead stick to sources that aren’t on a candidate’s payroll or angling for a job in the administration.

4. Decide how much you trust each candidate to deliver on their promises and lead the nation wisely. Regarding the trust issue, you can certainly visit the fact-check websites, but it’s ultimately your call. Basic questions you may want to ask yourself include: Who do you think is more likely to be honest with America during a national crisis? Who is more likely to consider unvarnished feedback from their advisors during high-risk decisions? Trust matters, but so does the viability of what they are proposing. So another thing you can explore is what nonpartisan sources think about the chances that each candidate’s proposals will become a reality.

5. Make the best possible choice for you — and make sure to vote. Look, the above isn’t going to make you an expert, but in just two to four hours you can significantly increase your issue literacy. BTW, this only works if you have an open mind and avoid what’s termed motivated reasoning and the confirmation bias, e.g. only looking for information that supports what you already believe. So be open to learning something new and you’ll feel much better about your vote this year. As Swift emphasized, none of this matters if you don’t vote. She encouraged people to visit Vote.gov for help with registration and the entire voting process, and it’s a solid option.

The bottom line is you don’t need to be a diehard Swiftie or share her political priorities to recognize the wisdom of doing your own election homework.

Wishing you the best during this crazy election season and may God bless America no matter how it all plays out.

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Clancy is co-founder of Citizen Connect and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund. Citizen Connect is an initiative of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, which also operates The Fulcrum.

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