DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More Americans now turn to AI to understand politics. Vote Smart built Civic Sage to guide voters through its researchers' work, not replace it. Version 2.0 is now available alongside a redesigned votesmart.org and the new Key Votes Index. Together, they give voters more ways to investigate candidates and elected officials before November.
A 2024 study by Oregon State University's School of Public Policy analyzed 1,508 survey responses from Vote Smart members and users. Respondents named accuracy, nonpartisanship, and ease of use as their top priorities in a voter information source. They asked for clearer navigation, more interactive tools, and easier access to voting records. The latest updates respond to those requests.
“For more than 30 years, thousands of Americans have supported Vote Smart because they believe voters should be able to investigate politicians for themselves,” said Dr. Kyle Dell, Executive Director of Vote Smart. “These new tools carry that idea into a very different information age—using better technology, including AI, not to tell people what to think, but to help them find the facts, understand them and make up their own minds.”
Civic Sage 2.0: AI that guides voters through the research
Civic Sage works like a docent: it walks voters through Vote Smart's research to the vetted information they're looking for. Every response draws only on that sourced database. What voters make of it is up to them.
Version 2.0 adds:
- Faster responses across the board, including complex comparisons, which now take under 20 seconds instead of a minute
- Side-by-side comparisons of candidates and officials
- Suggested starting questions and follow-ups
- Tappable options when a question could mean more than one person, replacing open-ended back-and-forth
No political background is needed to use Civic Sage. Voters can ask in their own words, and each answer leaves them understanding a little more.
The Key Votes Index: A new perspective on voting records
Vote Smart's new Key Votes Index gives voters another way to understand how lawmakers vote.
At a glance:
- Available on profiles for members of the U.S. House and Senate
- Covers the 119th Congress (2025-2026)
- Built on the key votes Vote Smart tracks
- Combines two equally weighted measures: agreement with fellow party members, and alignment on votes where Democrats and Republicans took opposing positions
- Calculated the same way for every legislator
- Full methodology at https://www.votesmart.org/pdf/KeyVotesIndexMethodology_9-30-2026.pdf
The index is a starting point for investigation, not a judgment about a lawmaker. It describes party alignment in recorded votes. It does not measure a legislator's honesty, effectiveness, or policy choices, and it is not an endorsement.
A redesigned Vote Smart built around the voter
The redesigned votesmart.org brings Civic Sage 2.0, the Key Votes Index, and Vote Smart's research together in one place, with interactive tools that make it easier to find, compare, and understand information about candidates and elected officials.
New on the site:
- Top Searched This Week on the homepage, showing what other voters are researching
- Tool Box, a single page for Vote Smart's different research tools
- Simpler navigation between candidates, elected officials, and voting records
- Key Votes Index scores on 540 profiles
Together, the changes are a new approach to a mission Vote Smart has pursued since 1992: giving individuals factual, unbiased information about the people who represent them and those seeking their votes.
Technology is changing. The principles behind it are not. Visit votesmart.org to explore Civic Sage 2.0, the Key Votes Index and Vote Smart's voter resources.
About Vote Smart
Vote Smart provides free, factual, unbiased information on candidates and elected officials to all Americans. For more than 30 years, Vote Smart has collected and organized political information to help voters investigate those who govern and those seeking public office.
Resources
- Civic Sage: www.votesmart.org/civic-sage
- Key Votes Index methodology: https://www.votesmart.org/pdf/KeyVotesIndexMethodology_9-30-2026.pdf
- Tool Box: https://www.votesmart.org/tools
Media Contact
Lauren Swan
Vote Smart
press@votesmart.org
Journalists can request complimentary Civic Sage access at the email above.
