1. The debate format
A debate is not a comment thread. It has fixed parts, and each one has a job.
| Part | What it is | Why it exists |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition | One yes/no question a named body can decide | Stops arguments that go nowhere because no one can act on them |
| Context | Up to 500 neutral words: what is proposed, by whom, on what timeline | Gives newcomers the facts without the spin |
| Category + location | Topic and jurisdiction | Makes the debate findable by people it actually affects |
| Arguments for / against | Separate columns, strongest case each way | Prevents a thread where one side simply out-posts the other |
| Evidence | Required on every argument | An unsourced claim does not publish |
| Community vote | Agree / Undecided / Disagree | Shows where residents stand, reported by district |
| Outcome | What the body decided, when, by what vote | Closes the loop and creates the public record |
Starter debates — the ones that seeded this platform — are written by our editorial team and labeled as such. Everything else comes from residents.
2. Evidence and verification
Every argument must cite at least one source. Moderators then classify it:
- Verified — the argument’s factual premise is supported by an authoritative primary source: an ordinance, a staff report, an audited financial statement, an agency dataset, a court decision or peer-reviewed research, and the source actually says what the argument claims.
- Sourced — a source is cited and relevant, but it is secondary (a news report) or the claim is partly interpretive.
- Disputed — a fact check found the source does not support the claim, or that stronger evidence contradicts it. The label stays on the argument, with the reviewer’s note.
Any reader can press Request Fact Check on an argument. Requests go to the moderation queue with the reason given, and the outcome is published on the argument itself. Our fact-checking policy describes the standard of proof and the appeal route.
Where jurisdictions publish open data — budget files, permit records, crash data, meeting records — we prefer it over any description of it, and we link the dataset so readers can check for themselves.
3. Voting
Votes on a debate are a measure of resident opinion, not a poll of the general public, and we never present them as a scientific survey. To keep them meaningful:
- One account, one vote per debate, changeable until the debate closes.
- Accounts are tied to a verified email and a jurisdiction, so results can be reported by city and district.
- Aggregates are published; individual votes are not.
- Debates with obvious brigading are flagged, and the flag is shown alongside the result.
Until verified accounts are enabled in your jurisdiction, the vote buttons record your answer in your own browser only, and no tally is published.
4. Initiatives and petitions
An initiative moves through five recorded stages: Collecting → Submitted → Under review → Response received → Resolved. Each stage is timestamped on the petition page, so a body that does not answer is as visible as one that does.
Signatures are confirmed by email and tied to a jurisdiction. A petition destined for a government body must also meet that body’s own verification rules, which are stricter than ours — our guide to petition rules explains what your state requires, and thresholds for delivery are set per city or county.
5. Accounts, reputation and badges
Sign up with email, Google or Facebook. Your display name is public; your email and ZIP code are not.
Reputation is earned by arguments that survive scrutiny — not by volume, and not by agreement. Points come from verified sources, from arguments that draw substantive replies from the other side, and from fact checks that turn out to be correct. Points are lost when an argument is found to be misleading.
| Badge | How it is earned |
|---|---|
| Fact Checker | Ten or more fact-check requests upheld on review |
| Top Debater | Arguments verified across at least five debates, on both sides of at least one issue |
| Community Organizer | Created a debate or petition that reached an official response |
| Local Expert | Sustained sourced contributions in one jurisdiction |
Your profile keeps the record: debates created, arguments posted, petitions signed and votes cast.
6. Moderation
New accounts are pre-moderated: the first submissions are reviewed by a moderator before they appear. Established accounts in good standing are post-moderated: posts appear immediately and are reviewed on report.
Moderators enforce the community guidelines: no personal attacks, no harassment, no doxxing, no campaigning for a candidate, no undisclosed paid advocacy, no misrepresented sources. Actions escalate from an edit request to removal, temporary suspension and ban. Every removal comes with a reason and a route to appeal, and appeals are decided by a different moderator than the one who acted.
7. What we collect
We ask for the minimum: an email to verify an account, a jurisdiction to route your vote, and nothing else you do not volunteer. We do not run advertising trackers, we do not sell personal information, and ZIP codes typed into the lookup tools are processed in your browser. See the privacy policy.
8. Data on the site
The directory is compiled from official city, county and district sources and re-checked on a schedule. Governments change meeting nights, agenda systems and addresses without notice, so each entry links the official page and every page invites corrections. Population figures come from the US Census Bureau.
If something is wrong, tell us — corrections are usually live within two business days.