Platform Freeze Until Early July

Just a note, as previously written on Twitter and this blog: the platform is frozen until early July, likely some time late in the first week of July. All candidates can still update their elaborations on issues during this code freeze via the private link sent to their official campaign […]
Jun 15, 2019

A Candidate Opts Out

Today, I received an official request, via the confirmed Twitter candidate address, from D2 candidate Christopher Peguero to opt out of ALIGNVOTE. Within an hour, per his request, his listing was changed from stances-known — even though he had previously confirmed all of his stances to voters — to “cleared […]
Jun 15, 2019

Candidates, Have Your Say

New ALIGNVOTE Feature: Candidate Voices Immediately upon launch of the candidate-facing preview of ALIGNVOTE last Wednesday, I heard a great feature request from D4 candidate Heidi Stuber. Paraphrasing our exchange: “I understand why multiple choice is great for finding a match, but often, multiple choice questions have a need for […]
Jun 11, 2019

Introducing ALIGNVOTE

Ever wish you had help discovering which candidates agree the most with you? Simply answer a few questions, and ALIGNVOTE will tell you. It’s free, quick, and it works easily on your phone or desktop. Are you a Seattle voter? There’s a very important City Council election coming up on […]
Jun 10, 2019

Hi, I’m Steve.

About Me Hi. I’m Steve Murch, and I’m the sole person behind ALIGNVOTE. I think it’s reasonable to know who’s behind the site, and I’d always planned to disclose my founding role when we rolled it out. So now that we’re in beta, let me introduce myself. I’ve lived in […]
Jun 10, 2019

Why I’m Done Letting “The Stranger” Influence My Vote

The Stranger is a smug, snarky and occasionally clever Seattle media institution that makes some great nightlife recommendations. But when it comes to city politics, it’s on the wrong track. With 50+ candidates running for City Council, many Seattle voters are going to be looking for ways to winnow down […]
May 22, 2019

On The Accuracy of Self-Reported Data

In the urgent debate around Seattle’s homelessness crisis, many articles (such as this otherwise great one in Crosscut) cite the statistic that 35% of those who are homeless in the Seattle region have some level of substance abuse. It’s often a very central part of the framing, especially by those […]
Apr 27, 2019

Bridging Seattle’s Homeless Divide: Toward Common Ground

Fears matter, and they often prevent action. Each side of the debate needs to have a cogent, believable answer for the other side’s worst fears. That’s currently missing from the debate. But only then can we make progress. I’m lucky to have very smart, good faith, prominent and well-intentioned friends […]
Apr 4, 2019