Non-partisan (adjective):
"Not biased or partisan, especially towards any particular political group."
- Oxford Dictionary
If you want the easy answer to the question, "What does non-partisan mean?", then you can use the definition from any dictionary. However, at Vote Smart, we believe that non-partisan means more than just that.
For us, being non-partisan is about more than just avoiding bias; it's about armoring the American people with the weapons to fight back against manipulative politics. These weapons come in the form of un-altered, un-biased facts which provide every voter with the ability to ensure that their employees, their representatives, are doing their jobs, instead of taking advantage of the people who they were elected to represent.
It's becoming harder and harder to find the un-biased truth in our political landscape, which is increasingly dependent on false facts. Vote Smart offers something different. We offer a free, non-partisan resource that allows every American to go to the polls and vote with the FACTS, instead of feelings that have been manipulated by politicians. In order to ensure that our extraordinary resource is truly bias-free, we have a few extraordinary rules:
No one can join Vote Smart's board without a political opposite. People as diverse as former Presidents Carter and Ford, former Senators McGovern and Goldwater, former Governor Dukakis, former Congresswoman Ferraro and current Senator McCain have served on Vote Smart's board, supporting the efforts of Vote Smart's students and volunteers, and ensuring balance and strict impartiality in Vote Smart programs and services.
Vote Smart refuses financial assistance from all organizations and special interest groups that lobby or support or oppose any candidate or issue.
Vote Smart operates much like the Peace Corps -- of the over 5000 people who have come to help by working at Vote Smart, 90% received no pay and those who did received only minimal salaries to cover basic living expenses.
Unlike other organizations, Vote Smart strictly protects its members and supporters. We never sell or provide names, addresses, or other contact information of any supporter or contributor to anyone, at any time, for any reason.
You can read more about our board and what we strive for through our non-partisan data on our website's "About Page", linked HERE.
Don't let false facts and dishonest politicians manipulate you. Vote Smart instead!
Vote Smart is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing accurate, unbiased information and making it accessible to all. Our expenses are paid entirely by donations. If you would like to support our help us defend democracy and fight ignorance, please help us if you can. Every dollar makes a difference.
Fight for the Facts! Donate to Vote Smart!