Guide to the Guide:

We only give input on metro Atlanta races

We'd love to do all of Georgia, and maybe we'll get there at some point, but for now we don't have the time and volunteer power to research every opposed race in Georgia. So for now, we concentrate on the races in DeKalb and Fulton county.

We only give input on opposed races

We only give input on contested races because you have no choice in the uncontested ones. When there is more than one candidate, we are offering our opinion on the strongest progressive choice. More often than we'd like, this is a choice of the lesser-of-evils. But our idea is that since you have to pick, we'll give insight on who has the progressive edge.

We don't "endorse" candidates; but we do consult the endorsements of those we trust

To research the candiates and their stance on the issues we care about, we consult the endorsements of various organizations we trust. On our voter guide, a notation of C, E, L, W, S means a candidate has been endorsed by one of these organizaions (all linked from our home page), which include:

C = Conservation/Environment

Georgia Conservation Voters

Sierra Club of Georgia

E  = Equality and Civil Rights

Atlanta Stonewall Democrats

Georgia Equality

Georiga Log Cabin Republicans

L = Labor and Workers Rights

Georgia AFL-CIO

W = Women's Issues and Freedom of Choice

Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Georgia

Georgia WINLIST

S = Schools, Education and Children's Concerns

EduKalb

EduPAC Atlanta

Georgia Association of Educators

National Association of Educators

National Association of Social Workers - PACE

For the nonpartisan (judicial) races, we look to professional organizations, including the Atlanta Bar Association

and the State Bar of Georgia.

Our voter guide is technically a nonpartisan

We're looking for the strongest progressive choice in each opposed race. Will you see more Democratic choices on our guides? Most likely. But only because that's where more of the progressive candidates are currently aligned. When a viable Republican, Independent or Libertarian candidate meets our criteria, s/he gets the Urban Independents thumbs up.

Also note that in the primary election we only give opinions on the Democratic ballot. Sadly, this is because right now in Georgia, Republican progressive candidates are few and far between. We simply do not have the volunteer power to identify which Republican candidates might be the least opposed to progressive causes.

We weigh various factors in making our decisions

We prioritize the candidates' views and records on progressive issues but also consider their viability of being elected to office. In a toss-up between good candidates we usually select the incumbent, as s/he may have built important alliances or be in a leadership position helpful to our causes.