VoteMatch Responses (Click here for VoteMatch quiz)
VoteMatch Question & Answer (Click on question for explanation and background)	Based on these stances: (Click on topic for excerpt & citation)
Strongly Favors topic 1: Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right (+5 points on Social scale)	Healthcare for all including contraception: Strongly Favors topic 1 Offer abortion services free to women at the poverty level: Strongly Favors topic 1 Healthcare is a right, including women's reproductive rights: Strongly Favors topic 1 Real choice includes information on prevention: Favors topic 1 Family planning is 1st principle of reproductive healthcare: Strongly Favors topic 1 Give women easy access to “morning after” pill: Strongly Favors topic 1 Protect a woman’s right to choose: Favors topic 1
Strongly Favors topic 2: Legally require hiring women & minorities (-5 points on Economic scale)	Cops violate rights of blacks in cities & Latinos at border: Strongly Favors topic 2 Confederate flag should be removed from all public locations: Strongly Favors topic 2 Pay equity for women remains critical, despite some programs: Strongly Favors topic 2 Incarcerating poor & minorities has become big business: Strongly Favors topic 2 Economy that is not fully inclusive is inherently unstable: Strongly Favors topic 2
Strongly Favors topic 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage (+5 points on Social scale)	Protect LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination: Strongly Favors topic 3 No discrimination based on orientation whether it's LGB or T: Strongly Favors topic 3 After marriage equality comes workplace equality: Strongly Favors topic 3 Recognize gay marriages & civil unions from abroad in visas: Strongly Favors topic 3 All people entitled to full civil rights, including gays: Strongly Favors topic 3 First pro-gay-marriage candidate in first gay marriage state: Strongly Favors topic 3 Legalize gay marriage: Strongly Favors topic 3
Strongly Opposes topic 4: Keep God in the public sphere (+5 points on Social scale)	"Religious Freedom" is surrogate for patriarchal domination: Strongly Opposes topic 4 Moral foundation for society good; religious basis bad: Strongly Opposes topic 4 No religious oaths for public office, juries, or citizenship: Strongly Opposes topic 4 Opposes teacher-led prayer in public schools: Strongly Opposes topic 4 Don't prevent church-based welfare, but not as substitute: Neutral on topic 4
Strongly Favors topic 5: Expand ObamaCare (-5 points on Economic scale)	Medicare-for-all better & cheaper than ObamaCare: Strongly Favors topic 5 Early diagnosis and intervention for mental illness: Favors topic 5 Illusion that ObamaCare is a step towards single-payer: Strongly Favors topic 5 Single-payer public health insurance program: Strongly Favors topic 5 Thousands die each year when excluding from adequate care: Strongly Favors topic 5 Medical doctor & advocate for community health provider: Strongly Favors topic 5 ObamaCare was step backward for goal of single payer: Strongly Favors topic 5 Right to quality health care: Medicare for All: Strongly Favors topic 5 Streamline bureaucracy: $400B yearly for comprehensive care: Strongly Favors topic 5 30% of healthcare costs squandered on ads & CEO salaries: Favors topic 5 Save money & increase access with single-payer system: Strongly Favors topic 5 Implement universal health care: Strongly Favors topic 5
Strongly Opposes topic 6: Privatize Social Security (-5 points on Economic scale)	Remove income cap on social security taxes: Strongly Opposes topic 6 Save Social Security and Medicare from assault by the right: Opposes topic 6 Privatizing would lead to huge losses for retirees: Strongly Opposes topic 6 Don't turn over retirement to private corporations: Strongly Opposes topic 6 System perfectly solvent when rich pay their fair share: Strongly Opposes topic 6 Social Security is not in crisis; and it's not a handout: Strongly Opposes topic 6
Strongly Opposes topic 7: Vouchers for school choice (-5 points on Economic scale)	Guarantee tuition-free education pre-school thru university: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Treat education as a right: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Call for an end to school privatization: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Common Core empowers contractors over teachers: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Mobilize to simply keep public education in existence: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Replace No Child Left Behind with professional teachers: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Right to a tuition-free public education, pre-K thru college: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Focus on student needs, not corporate needs: Neutral on topic 7 Move school decisions from national to grassroots level: Favors topic 7 Charter school siphon resources from public schools: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Vital public system under attack from privatization: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Boost public schools, and hold them accountable: Opposes topic 7
Strongly Opposes topic 8: Society bears cost of pollution (+5 points on Social scale)	Ban neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten pollinators: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Apply federal Superfund program to polluted drinking water: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Adopt the Precautionary Principle: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Create local, sustainable, organic, plant-based food system: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Water should be tested for radioactivity and heavy metals: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Healthy People, Healthy Planet: link environment & health: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Current food subsidies drive system towards FrankenFood: Opposes topic 8 Weatherizing homes creates jobs & addresses climate change: Opposes topic 8 Green Transition Program: convert gray economy to green: Opposes topic 8 Renewable energy is win-win for economy & national security: Opposes topic 8 Environment & economy are interdependent; not at odds: Opposes topic 8 $200M for 50,000 green jobs: address both supply demand: Opposes topic 8 Weak scientific understanding of effects of toxic exposure: Strongly Opposes topic 8
Strongly Opposes topic 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime (+5 points on Social scale)	Black Lives Matter movement is a vital & logical response: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Black Lives Matter: end racism & police militarization: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Judicial system makes mistakes & kills innocent people: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Stop dumping resources into the prison-industrial complex: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Death penalty is ineffective, and also barbaric: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Mandatory sentencing: ineffective & racially discriminatory: Strongly Opposes topic 9
Strongly Opposes topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (-5 points on Economic scale)	Australian gun restrictions stopped mass shootings: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Gun ownership should be appropriately regulated: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Gun ownership should be appropriately regulated: Strongly Opposes topic 10 More local regulations; more background checks: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Address community violence with more mental health services: Opposes topic 10 Gun at home more likely to cause injury than to defend home: Strongly Opposes topic 10
Strongly Favors topic 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy (-5 points on Economic scale)	Rich should pay 55%-60% taxes, not 15% or 35%: Strongly Favors topic 11 Increase inheritance taxes; use it as "Aristocracy Tax": Strongly Favors topic 11 Negative income tax for guaranteed basic income: Strongly Opposes topic 11 Transaction tax of .03% on every Wall Street transaction: Strongly Favors topic 11 Make all corporate tax subsidies transparent: Strongly Favors topic 11 End the Bush-Obama recession; ask wealthy to pay share: Strongly Favors topic 11 Incomes rise for wealthiest 1% but their taxes have fallen: Strongly Favors topic 11 Fees and sales taxes hit lower and middle income hardest: Strongly Favors topic 11 Close tax loopholes & stop corporate welfare: Favors topic 11 Replace “trickle down” with 50% tax cuts on lower incomes: Strongly Favors topic 11
Strongly Favors topic 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens (+5 points on Social scale)	H1-B Visa program is ok, but help global economy abroad: Favors topic 12 End fear-mongering; immigrants are law-abiding: Strongly Favors topic 12 We're deporting more immigrants than ever, 2.5M under Obama: Strongly Favors topic 12 Extend DREAM Act beyond age 30: Strongly Favors topic 12 Provide a legal path to citizenship for immigrant residents: Strongly Favors topic 12 End the war on immigrants; end "secure communities" cruelty: Strongly Favors topic 12 Undocumented immigrants are critical component of economy: Strongly Favors topic 12 No pathway to citizenship for criminals; open to all others: Strongly Favors topic 12
Strongly Opposes topic 13: Support & expand free trade (-5 points on Economic scale)	NAFTA destroyed jobs in US and Mexico: Strongly Opposes topic 13 We want antidotes to NAFTA: Strongly Opposes topic 13 Oppose bipartisan job-killing corporate trade agreements: Strongly Opposes topic 13 Fight global trade deals' "investor-state" court system: Strongly Opposes topic 13 TPP attacks our basic national sovereignty: Strongly Opposes topic 13 Opposes Fast Track and executive action: Strongly Opposes topic 13 TPP is like NAFTA on steroids: Strongly Opposes topic 13 International trade boards compromise American sovereignty: Strongly Opposes topic 13 NAFTA caused the wave of undocumented immigrants: Strongly Opposes topic 13
Strongly Opposes topic 14: Support American Exceptionalism (-5 points on Economic scale)	Syria invited Russia into war; don't threaten no-fly zone: Strongly Opposes topic 14 US helped create refugee crisis, so we should help them: Favors topic 14 Re-examine NATO to avoid economic and military domination: Strongly Opposes topic 14 End CIA-supported coups and regime change in Latin America: Opposes topic 14 Deportation of vulnerable refugees is morally abhorrent: Strongly Opposes topic 14 Take 65,000 Syrian refugees immediately, not over 18 months: Opposes topic 14 Work towards neutral Ukraine; don't arm them against Russia: Opposes topic 14 China provides less heavy-handed foreign aid than does US: Opposes topic 14 Expanding NATO threatens Russia and breaks our promise: Strongly Opposes topic 14 Focus on human rights, international law, and diplomacy: Strongly Opposes topic 14 National conversation before we go to war: Opposes topic 14 US should behave as member of world community, no world cop: Strongly Opposes topic 14
Strongly Opposes topic 15: Expand the military (+5 points on Social scale)	Support Iranian nuclear deal as part of nuclear-free Mideast: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Warsaw Pact ended NATO's reason to exist, then NATO expanded: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Both scary: Hillary wants Syria war & Trump wants more nukes: Strongly Opposes topic 15 $6 trillion to pay for wounded veterans from failed wars: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Peace offensive: shut down bases, F-35, & Saudi funding: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Close the 700+ foreign military bases: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Disarm North Korea as part of worldwide nuclear disarmament: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Bring troops home from 800 bases abroad: Strongly Opposes topic 15 700+ foreign military bases are bankrupting us: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Burden of fighting is borne by families of lesser means: Opposes topic 15 Switch from bloated military to spending at home: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Reduce spending via military cuts & preventive health: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Cut military 50%; spend that $500B on economy: Strongly Opposes topic 15
Strongly Favors topic 16: Make voter registration easier (+5 points on Social scale)	We need ranked-choice voting in presidential elections: Strongly Favors topic 16 No money from lobbyists; No money from SuperPACs: Strongly Favors topic 16 Replace Electoral College with national popular vote: Strongly Favors topic 16 Establish a constitutional right to vote: Strongly Favors topic 16 2002 Clean Elections repeal meant "throw the bums out": Strongly Favors topic 16 Voter Bill of Rights: full public financing; paper ballots: Strongly Favors topic 16 PACs connect campaigns with rich donors, & disconnect public: Strongly Favors topic 16 Re-establish Clean Elections Law: end "pay-to-play": Strongly Favors topic 16 Insulate public health decisions from special interests: Strongly Favors topic 16 New voices heard with Clean Elections law: Strongly Favors topic 16
Strongly Favors topic 17: Avoid foreign entanglements (+5 points on Social scale)	Don't take sides in Yemen; arms embargo instead: Strongly Favors topic 17 End policy of regime-change and military intervention: Strongly Favors topic 17 Stop bombing Muslims abroad and stop bashing them at home: Strongly Favors topic 17 Libyan invasion was a catastrophe that inflamed the Mideast: Strongly Favors topic 17 Nuclear disarmament with Russia, not threats over Syria: Strongly Favors topic 17 Invasions violate international law unless we're threatened: Strongly Favors topic 17 Pro-war means anti-feminist: Strongly Favors topic 17 War on terror has cost $6T and a million lives: Strongly Favors topic 17 War in Iraq created Frankenstein's monster of ISIS: Strongly Favors topic 17 U.S. meddling in Mideast exacerbates terrorism: Strongly Favors topic 17 U.S-backed regime change in Iran caused current conflict: Strongly Favors topic 17 Immediate weapons embargo to the Middle East: Strongly Favors topic 17 ISIS grows out of chaos that we created in Iraq: Strongly Favors topic 17 Stop economic sanctions and cyber-attacks against Iran: Strongly Favors topic 17 Get tough policy has opposite effect of what was intended: Strongly Favors topic 17 Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were illegal: Strongly Favors topic 17 We never should have been in Iraq; we're still not out: Strongly Favors topic 17 We should not be in Afghanistan; no military solution: Strongly Favors topic 17 Humanitarian aims in Libya ok; but not regime change: Strongly Favors topic 17 End our military misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan: Strongly Favors topic 17
Strongly Favors topic 18: Prioritize green energy (-5 points on Economic scale)	Halt any investment in fossil fuel infrastructure: Strongly Favors topic 18 Climate change is humanity's greatest existential threat: Strongly Favors topic 18 Nuclear power plants risk proliferation and going Fukushima: Strongly Favors topic 18 Declare a climate emergency & get to 100% renewables by 2030: Strongly Favors topic 18 Green New Deal to turn the tide on climate change: Strongly Favors topic 18 COP 21 is symbolic victory, but we need to go much further: Strongly Favors topic 18 Create 20 million jobs by investing in renewables: Strongly Favors topic 18 "All of the above" policy puts fossil fuels above all: Favors topic 18 Climate change causes record storms, floods, and drought: Favors topic 18 Green New Deal for efficient public transportation: Favors topic 18 Immediate halt in all new fossil fuel exploration: Strongly Favors topic 18 Completely zero out climate emissions, as fast as possible: Strongly Favors topic 18 Make wars for oil obsolete: 100% renewables by 2030: Strongly Favors topic 18 Fight against climate change instead of fighting for oil: Strongly Favors topic 18 We can't wait 4 more years to address climate change: Strongly Favors topic 18 World War II-scale mobilization to reduce carbon burden: Strongly Favors topic 18 Nuclear energy is dirty, dangerous and expensive: Strongly Favors topic 18 Sustainable transportation plus sustainable food supply: Strongly Favors topic 18 Sustainable development; and ban genetically modified food: Favors topic 18
Strongly Opposes topic 19: Marijuana is a gateway drug (+5 points on Social scale)	Replace drug prohibition with harm reduction: Strongly Opposes topic 19 The war on drugs is racist: Strongly Opposes topic 19 End the racist war on drugs and school-to-prison pipeline: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Transform from criminal drug system to public health system: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Reduce culture of violence via mental health & legal drugs: Opposes topic 19 I support legalization of marijuana: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Marijuana is dangerous because it's illegal, not vice-versa: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Bring marijuana sales under a legal regulatory framework: Strongly Opposes topic 19
Strongly Favors topic 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery (-5 points on Economic scale)	Guaranteed jobs for all who need work: Strongly Favors topic 20 Obama stimulus was ok, but only made slight dent in crisis: Strongly Favors topic 20 Still no end in sight to economic crisis: focus on jobs: Strongly Favors topic 20 Stimulus plan was not big enough: Strongly Favors topic 20 Stimulus spent $220K per job; I propose $20K per green job: Strongly Favors topic 20 Full Employment Program: green jobs and community needs: Strongly Favors topic 20 Green New Deal: emergency program for 25M jobs: Strongly Favors topic 20