Plattsburgh, NY — Vermont’s primary is Tuesday, and with New York’s coming up August 23, the League of Women Voters is trying to make it easy for voters to know the candidates.

The group has created the website VOTE411.org as a one-stop shop for election questions, such as where to register to vote and where to cast your ballot, as well as answers to questions about the candidates and the issues.

“We send the emails directly to candidates so that they can respond in their own words word for word,” said Erica Smitka, New York’s deputy director for the League of Women Voters. “And then once they respond to us we actually don’t make any changes or edits to the answers whatsoever so that people are seeing exactly how the candidate wants to represent themselves.” 

Smitka says resources like VOTE411 can have a positive impact on democracy as a whole.

“Democracy is not effective unless you have each and every person participating,” she said, “and it’s even better if each and every person that heads to the polls is an informed person, and a person who knows how they want their voice to be heard, and that makes that voice heard by going to the ballot box.” 

Smitka encourages people to reach out to the campaigns and ask their own questions. And she believes it’s a good way for politicians to spread their message.

General election information and information about the candidates will be posted on the website around the beginning of October.