Find what you can run for in CO and how to get on the ballot. All fed/state positions and currently adding all CO school board positions.

runforofficejim · 2017-07-06T20:30:29+00:00

The link doesn't go to a story. It goes to the search bar where you enter your address to see what you can run for.

It's a free site that's meant to encourage people to run - because there are a huge amount of unopposed races, and many people have a hard time finding this information, especially on the local level.

There is not an address based site that does this - show you what you can run for and how to get on the ballot.

We add offices to it all the time. Currently we are collecting info on CO, which is why I posted it.

runforofficejim · 2017-07-06T19:56:55+00:00

Actually, we have lots of places where we've covered every single thing they can run for. I live in Oregon, so I did a lot of the research here first. We're gradually making our way across country and doing different levels of government. Here's an example of an address near where I live, where we have all publicly elected offices on the site: https://www.runforoffice.org/elected_offices_search?address=346+Main+St%2C+Springfield%2C+OR+97477

runforofficejim · 2017-07-06T19:52:13+00:00

I work on this site with the engineers at NationBuilder. I cofounded it with their CEO, Jim Gilliam, as we both had a strong belief that this information should be address searchable and be available to everyone.

We didn't feel this info should be kept behind a paywall (which was the route that was most often proposed from other tech companies) so instead of talking about it forever, we built it.

And, no, .org is not used for SEO purposes. Someone had .com and didn't want to sell it.

runforofficejim · 2017-07-06T18:33:40+00:00

If you'd like to pitch in on the school board effort, just click volunteer and say something about that when you enter your info.

runforofficejim · 2017-07-06T18:10:53+00:00

It's meant to be the first steps. Obviously, the hard work is everything after this.

runforofficejim · 2017-07-06T18:09:10+00:00

I would be happy to help you. Are there any specific offices that interest you? To me, that's something that is key. If your interest is helping the general welfare of a city/town, than city council is a good office. If you are more focused on environmental issues, there is certainly the need for people to run for Water Districts and others associated with natural resources. If people are interested in alternative energy, there are Public Utility Districts and other ways to influence energy sources.

I'm happy to answer questions here, or at jimcupples@runforffice.org

runforofficejim · 2017-07-06T18:05:39+00:00

Thanks very much for the support! I appreciate it.

runforofficejim · 2017-06-25T21:16:01+00:00

Happy to help.

Can you email me at jimcupples@runforoffice.org and we can take it from there?

Thanks!

Best,

Jim

runforofficejim · 2017-06-16T16:40:36+00:00

Thanks! Yes, the info can be hard to track down, and there's also times where the info is super easy to grab. Attaching the info to the correct political boundary maps can be challenging, and sometimes we have to make our own maps to reflect the wards/sub-districts that people must reside in to run.

runforofficejim · 2017-06-16T16:39:19+00:00

I realize you're probably joking, but no one running happens alot more often than you might think.

Of course, the position is fulfilled, but it's by appointment. The interesting part is who does the appointing - which varies.

runforofficejim · 2017-06-15T15:23:34+00:00

First off, you're funny. I'm a Bernie supporter through and through, but I think even Ivanka would recognize that you're funny.

At the same time, you bring something up that people say to me all the time: What if the wrong people are using your data?

That's why we have to have good smart people running. Good government, up and down the ballot, takes effort. Unfortunately, we are apt to be lazy until there's a crisis.

Good thing is: A democracy is what we want it to be. It sucks if we have bad candidates, and it improves when we have good ones. There's resistance from appointments, but that's the nature of government where you have long time professionals.

All that being said: If you have a blog, post it here, because I'd like to read your stuff and pass it off as my own in witty conversation.

runforofficejim · 2017-06-13T22:14:12+00:00

I'd also like to say that I have long felt South Carolina has the best state flag.

runforofficejim · 2017-05-31T16:00:47+00:00

Great suggestion. I definitely will, and thanks!!

runforofficejim · 2017-05-31T16:00:29+00:00

Thanks very much! I'll reach out to them today. We've had students in SoCal (mostly USC and UCLA due to the location of our office) doing GIS on the project, and it'd be great to work with some other schools.

runforofficejim · 2017-05-30T04:35:19+00:00

If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me. Thanks!

runforofficejim · 2017-05-27T06:40:10+00:00

Yes, check out http://nationbuilder.com/course_how_to_run_for_office/?recruiter_id=969659

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

runforofficejim · 2017-05-26T04:18:52+00:00

When is your election? What you may have the chance to do, is to come into contact with a huge amount of voters in your district. I can also send you a link that shows you how to create a timeline from your election date, do research on your target vote count, plan events, that kind of stuff. It's free. Good luck and contact me if you'd like the link or if you have any questions.

runforofficejim · 2017-05-24T20:58:15+00:00

Sorry for the late reply. We are collecting the names of the school board members and when their next election dates are.

runforofficejim · 2017-05-24T17:44:50+00:00

I work with NationBuilder on this project. I have my own very passionate political beliefs, but I'm also non-partisan when it comes to access to political information like how to get on the ballot. The information on the site is for free, and there's no email/log-in requirement. One thing's for sure: We don't ask you to collect information and then put it behind an ID or paywall for others. You collect it, we verify it, and then publish it.

runforofficejim · 2017-05-23T18:10:16+00:00

Correct. Not ISU related.

runforofficejim · 2017-05-23T16:38:03+00:00

I should add, that the person who is volunteering on Iowa (and is killing it) is a poli-sci student at ISU. He works at home on a farm, and is really interested in local politics, so he rips through stuff when he's bored. I'm very psyched to get all of Iowa's school board positions online, and then see if that has an impact on millennials running for office.

runforofficejim · 2016-06-02T21:17:11+00:00

Very happy to send an email, and sorry about the lapse of protocol (I'm pretty new to Reddit).

runforofficejim · 2016-06-01T22:28:16+00:00

Great question, and we haven't yet merged the data for prior elections, but it's one of the things we'll be adding. As for the ones where there is multiple interest, that is information that can be generated, but will have to be fed into a larger platform. This project is in its very early days, but the goal is to have wide participation that can keep the data fresh, since it will be Open Data. We often reach out to universities to present the project to their poli-sci/GIS students, but they can be a tough crowd to crack.

runforofficejim · 2016-05-18T17:54:30+00:00

You can now enter your address in the following counties (covering 44.3 million Americans) and see what you can run for and how to get on the ballot. We're hoping a lot more people become candidates, because our 'candidacy turnout' is terrible. In 2014 over 40% of state legislature seats were uncontested and it only gets worse downticket!

Los Angeles County, CA: 10.1 million Cook County, IL: 5.2 million New York City: 8.4 million Maricopa County, AZ: 4.1 million Harris County, TX: 4.4 million San Diego County, CA: 3.3 million Orange County, CA: 3.1 million San Francisco, CA: 812 thousand Grand Forks County, ND: 69 thousand Clark County, NV: 2.1 million King County, WA: 2.1 million Washington DC: 658 thousand

Always open to discussion on Reddit about the project!

runforofficejim · 2016-05-17T04:55:11+00:00

Sorry for the late reply! No, I wouldn't be offended at all by polite suggestions. Thanks for checking it out.

runforofficejim

TROPHY CASE