A Look at the GR Press Voter Guide

Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Press sent out as an insert in the daily paper their 2010 Voter Guide. The print voter guide doesn’t contain as much information as the online guide, but it is worth critiquing as a stand-alone election information source.

The voter guide is 20-pages long with the front cover being just that, a cover with an image of gubernatorial candidates Rick Snyder and Virg Bernero. There are also eight different paid political ads: one from the Libertarian Party and the other 7 from individual candidates – Justin Amash, David LaGrand, Bing Goei, Mark Jansen, Roy Schmidt, Frank Hammond and Dave Hildenbrand.

There is something just not right about including paid political ad space in a voter guide. The voter guide should be just about information on the candidates and ballot proposals that people will decide on next week. What is especially problematic is having paid political ads from candidates placed right next to the information on specifics races. For instance, page 8 is taken up completely with information on the three candidates running for the 29^th State Senate District – Dave Hildenbrand, David LaGrand and Bill Gelineau. Covering half of page 9 is an ad from David LaGrand. Having such ads right next to the information about the candidates and where they stand on certain issues just seems inappropriate and only contributes to claims of partisan bias from the Press.

Beyond the ads there is also the issue of not including the questions and answers from several of the races in this area. For instance, there are only candaidate questions and answers for the 29^th District State Senate race, but for the 24^th, 28^th, 30^th and 34^th Districts there is only a brief candidate profile. The same is the case with the State House races, where only the 75^th District race has responses from candidates to seven different questions. Of the 19 Kent County Commission races, only 5 have responses to just three questions.

Maybe the most disappoint omission was for the two statewide ballot proposals. In this instance the Press published a short blurb from an Associated Press reporter for Proposals 1 & 2, instead of actually printing the text of the ballot proposals as they will appear on the November 2^nd ballot.

Then there is the issue of how questions are framed by the Press. For example, in the 3^rd Congressional race one of the questions is, “Do you think the health care bill should be repeal? Why or Why not?” While the question is not unreasonable it doesn’t lend itself to providing much information on what candidates think about the role that government should play in determining whether or not people in this country have a right to adequate health care. In other words, the questions tend to be too limited.

Another example from the questions posed to the 3^rd Congressional candidates is, “What more needs to occur at the federal level to aid the economic recovery?” Framing the question this way does not provide any easy opportunity for candidates to talk about what the federal government has done since the economic crash of 2008. Why not ask the candidates what they think about the government’s bailout of Wall Street, the so-called stimulus legislation (TARP) and the general role that government should play in how the economy runs?

Lastly, the Grand Rapids Press could practice more journalism by providing information to potential voters on the responses that candidates gave. For instance, the Press should be verifying the claims that candidates make in their responses to see whether or not they are based on facts.

In addition, when there are candidates running as incumbents or who have a voting record in a different capacity the Press should provide more information on how candidates have voted in the past, which would allow potential voters an opportunity to see what candidates have stood on issues in the past as well as what they are saying about issues before the election.

While one can claim that the Grand Rapids Press Voter Guide does provide people with some information on candidates and ballot proposals for next Tuesday’s election, it falls short in being a strong resource for people in order for them to make truly informed decisions on November 2^nd.