Who writes these cards
A volunteer research committee of Our Piedmont Education Foundation, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) public charity. We do not collaborate with any candidate, candidate’s committee, political party, or PAC. No campaign sees a card before it is published. No card is an endorsement of, or opposition to, any candidate or ballot position.
The concern set
Every November card marks the names on the ballot against a concern set that is published on the card itself, in advance, and applied the same way to both candidates. The set is built from the pocketbook questions we hear most from Piedmont households: the property-tax rate after reappraisal, new sales-tax votes, whether public-safety dollars follow filled posts, school results next to school spending, and costs that get shifted onto the household bill.
You do not have to share these concerns. The set is printed so you can see exactly what a mark measures and weigh it your own way. A voter whose priorities differ can read the same table and reach a different conclusion. That is the point of publishing the method.
What the marks mean
- ✓Check — matches the published concern set, on the public record we used.
- ✗X — does not match it, on that record.
- —Dash — no recorded vote and no published plank. We do not invent a mark, and a dash is not a verdict on character. Dashes are never counted in a tally.
Both candidates can earn a check on the same row. A tally like “9 of 10” counts checks on scored rows only. A lopsided tally means one candidate’s public record sits closer to this particular concern set — it is not a grade of fitness for office.
Three tools, three scales
The site uses three different instruments. They are not comparable with each other, and none of them is an endorsement.
November matchup cards
Scale: ✓ / ✗ / — per issue
Head-to-head cards for the two names actually on the ballot line, marked row by row against the published concern set.
Legislator session scorecards
Scale: votes on 9 tracked bills
Sitting members only, all scored on the same 2025-26 tracked bill set, with affordability, housing, and property-tax items weighted more heavily. A low score records votes against that package, often along party lines on this bill set. It is not a character judgment.
Sheriff performance review
Scale: 100 points, weighted categories
A separate instrument for an office with no roll-call record: weighted letter grades across crime reduction, staffing, child protection, fiscal stewardship, school safety, community relations, and jail security. Do not compare a 73/100 with a +9/9.
The sources
Marks and summaries rely on verified public records and contemporaneous reporting: official roll-call votes at ncleg.gov, State Board of Elections candidate filings, county budget adoptions and press releases, recorded public comment, candidates’ own published platforms, and coverage from named outlets. Each card lists its sources at the bottom. If we could not verify a claim, it is not on the card.
Corrections
Information is researched to the best of our committee’s ability and can change. Candidates and campaigns may send corrections to voting records or platform statements to hello@ourpiedmont.com or call (336) 860-7600. Corrections that check out are made on the page and noted.
Our Piedmont Education Foundation · 301 S Elm Street, Suite 605, Greensboro, NC 27401. This page describes voter-education methodology. Nothing on this site is an endorsement of, or opposition to, any candidate, party, or ballot position.