On the Issues
On the Issues is a U.S. nonpartisan, nonprofit political-information organization that helps voters compare candidates through issue positions and public records.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
On the Issues is an American nonpartisan, nonprofit political-information organization focused on helping voters evaluate candidates according to their positions on public-policy issues rather than personality, popularity, or campaign presentation. Its principal public-facing product is a large website that compiles and organizes candidate information for presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, mayoral, and other U.S. elections. The organization presents material drawn from campaign websites, speeches, press releases, newspaper coverage, book excerpts, legislative voting records, bill sponsorships, political affiliations, and ratings from external organizations. Its approach is primarily documentary and comparative: instead of functioning as a conventional news outlet or advocacy group, it assembles publicly available evidence so users can inspect how candidates have addressed specific issues over time. The project began in 1996 and adopted nonprofit status in 2000. It has been operated largely by volunteers, with editorial work centered on maintaining candidate pages, issue categories, voting records, quotations, and election-related comparisons. Naomi Lichtenberg is identified as the organization's owner and chief executive, while Jesse Gordon serves as editor-in-chief and content manager. The organization has been associated with operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Missoula, Montana. On the Issues is best known for its information-dense website. Coverage has included large numbers of incumbents and challengers, with the site described in external reporting as having tens of thousands of pages. The presentation favors extensive text and source material over elaborate visual design or technically complex features. This plain, archival style supports users who want to examine a candidate's record in detail, although it can be more demanding to navigate than a simplified voter guide. A prominent user feature is the VoteMatch Quiz, which asks users a set of issue questions and compares their answers with candidate positions. The quiz is intended to identify politically compatible candidates and to suggest a user's broad political philosophy through responses on social and economic questions. On the Issues has also created election-specific digital products, including the Pres2016 iTunes application, which organized material about contenders for the 2016 U.S. presidential race. The organization has pursued partnerships to distribute or structure its content beyond its own website. In 2012 it collaborated with Americans Elect in preparing issue questions and platform material for potential nominees and public officials. In 2015 it began working with Microsoft's Bing on balanced political content for a Bing political quiz, using text-parsing methods to organize candidate information. In January 2022, Snopes Media Group announced that it had acquired the website and relaunched it as a political newsletter, expanding the property's role from a reference website into a recurring email publication. The organization remains centered on U.S. electoral information and candidate issue comparisons.
History
On the Issues emerged in 1996 as a U.S. project for collecting and presenting information about political candidates and public-policy issues. Its central premise was that voters should be able to compare candidates on substantive questions instead of relying primarily on personal image, popularity, or campaign rhetoric. The project became a nonprofit organization in 2000 and has been run largely with volunteer participation. Its core method has been to gather information from a broad range of public sources. These have included newspaper reports, speeches, campaign press releases, excerpts from books, congressional voting records, bill sponsorships, political affiliations, ratings, and campaign websites. The resulting material is organized into candidate pages and issue categories, allowing users to review quotations, records, and stated positions across elections and offices. This approach has made the service more of a reference database and voter-research tool than a conventional political publication. The organization's website developed a reputation for extensive coverage and a text-heavy presentation. External descriptions have characterized it as information-rich but visually plain, reflecting a priority on archival breadth and searchable content rather than sophisticated design. By the early 2010s, the site covered a substantial number of pages concerning incumbents and challengers. Its coverage has extended beyond presidential elections to congressional, gubernatorial, mayoral, and other contests. A major interactive feature is the VoteMatch Quiz. Users answer questions on social and economic issues, and the service compares their responses with candidate positions. It also assigns a general political-philosophy characterization based on the answers. The feature was designed to connect voters with candidates whose stated views are comparatively compatible, offering a structured alternative to impressionistic campaign evaluation. On the Issues expanded its reach through partnerships and election-specific products. In 2012, it collaborated with Americans Elect to prepare platforms of questions for a range of public officials and potential nominees. The work drew on voting histories, legislative sponsorships, and other public statements. During the 2016 election cycle, the organization released the Pres2016 application for Apple's iTunes store, adapting website material about presidential contenders into a mobile-oriented product. In 2015, it also began a collaboration with Bing to supply balanced political content for a Bing quiz supported by text-parsing tools. The organization has been led by Naomi Lichtenberg as owner and chief executive and by Jesse Gordon as editor-in-chief and content manager. It has been associated with Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Missoula, Montana. In January 2022, Snopes Media Group announced that it had acquired the On the Issues website. The property was subsequently relaunched as a political newsletter sent to subscribers every two weeks, adding a recurring distribution format to its established database and reference functions. Its continuing identity is based on nonpartisan candidate research, issue comparison, and the organization of public political information for U.S. voters.
- 2022
Acquisition by Snopes Media Group
[1]Snopes Media Group acquires the website and relaunches it as a recurring political newsletter.
- 2015
Pres2016 application and Bing collaboration
[1]The organization releases a presidential-candidate application and begins supplying political content for a Bing quiz.
- 2012
Americans Elect collaboration
[1]On the Issues helps Americans Elect prepare issue questions and platform material for potential nominees and public officials.
- 2004
Recognized as a voter-information resource
[1]The Baltimore Sun includes OnTheIssues among websites that could help voters make more informed decisions.
- 2000
Becomes a nonprofit
[1]The organization adopts nonprofit status while continuing its nonpartisan voter-information mission.
- 1996
Project begins
[1]On the Issues begins as an American project providing voters with information about candidates and policy positions.
Products and positioning
A nonpartisan, research-oriented voter-information service emphasizing issue positions, public records, and candidate comparison rather than personality-driven political coverage.
Political information database · 1996
OnTheIssues.org candidate database
The organization's main website compiles candidate positions, quotations, voting records, bill sponsorships, affiliations, ratings, and related public material. Coverage spans presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, mayoral, and other U.S. elections. Its value lies in the breadth and organization of source-based information, enabling users to compare candidates by policy subject rather than relying only on campaign biographies or news coverage.
Political compatibility quiz
VoteMatch Quiz
VoteMatch is an interactive questionnaire that compares a user's answers on social and economic issues with positions attributed to candidates. It is designed to identify politically compatible candidates and to provide a broad political-philosophy classification. The quiz extends the organization's reference material into a more accessible voter-engagement format.
Election application · 2015
Pres2016
Pres2016 was an iTunes application that organized On the Issues material about contenders for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It adapted the organization's candidate and issue research into an app-based format for election users.
Email newsletter · 2022
On the Issues political newsletter
Following Snopes Media Group's acquisition, On the Issues was relaunched as a political newsletter sent to subscribers every two weeks. The newsletter extends the site's candidate and issue-information model into a recurring email product.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Bing political quiz collaboration
United States
On the Issues worked with Bing to provide balanced political content for a political quiz using a text-parsing tool to organize candidate information.
Outcome. The partnership distributed On the Issues-style candidate and issue information through a major search-engine platform.
- 2012Americans Elect platform collaboration
United States
On the Issues collaborated with Americans Elect to develop issue questions and platform material for members of Congress, governors, mayors, and potential nominees. The work used voting records, bill sponsorships, and public statements to inform the material.
Outcome. The collaboration extended On the Issues' research and comparison model into a third-party political convention and nomination project.
Brand decisions
2022
Acquisition and newsletter relaunchM&ABackground
On the Issues had established a substantial online database of candidate issue information and election research.
Action taken
Snopes Media Group acquired the website and relaunched the property as a political newsletter.
Aftermath
The brand gained a recurring email distribution channel while retaining its political-information identity.
2000
Adopts nonprofit statusStrategyBackground
The project had operated since 1996 as a nonpartisan source of candidate and issue information.
Action taken
On the Issues became a nonprofit organization.
Aftermath
It continued to develop its volunteer-supported voter-information website and database.
Sources2 sources
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