The Ballot Brief launches free 2026 voting resource

The Ballot Brief has launched a free, nonpartisan voter tool that combines certified election rosters with candidate context for the 2026 midterms across all 50 states. The site also offers a free embeddable lookup widget for newsrooms, libraries and civic groups.

Why it matters: - Voters often face ballots that list names but omit the context needed to compare candidates. - The Ballot Brief adds that context in one place, including policy priorities, campaign links, donors, funds raised and voting records where available. - The free embeddable widget gives local newsrooms, libraries and civic organizations a ready-made voter tool they can add to their websites. - The resource covers federal, statewide and tracked local races across all 50 states.

What happened: - The Ballot Brief, a nonpartisan voter information site founded by former Google and Zoom executive Ben Torres Ezrick, formally introduced itself on July 21, 2026. - The site had been serving voters since its June launch. - Arizona voters can use the tool today to see certified candidates for every statewide office and all nine congressional districts under the state's new election law. - The Ballot Brief also launched a free embeddable ballot lookup widget for any website.

The details: - The Ballot Brief starts each roster from certified candidate lists published by state and county election offices. - Users can enter a ZIP code or street address to see federal, statewide and tracked local races in one view. - Each candidate entry includes stated policy priorities, official campaign website links, top donors, funds raised and voting records where available. - The site also tracks statewide ballot measures and includes each measure's official ballot language. - Voters spend an average of four minutes per visit on the site. - Ezrick said county election offices and secretaries of state are the source of truth for certified ballot lists. - Ezrick said the Ballot Brief is meant to supplement official election information, not replace it. - Installation instructions are available on the free embeddable ballot lookup widget page.

Between the lines: - The Ballot Brief is trying to solve a common voter pain point: ballots are official, but they are not always informative. - The approach leans on certified election data first, then layers in candidate information from official campaign materials and campaign finance disclosures. - Tennessee shows the limits of election tech built on map files that can lag legal and political changes. - The Ballot Brief uses re-certified candidate lists from Tennessee's Secretary of State and links to the state's district tool while the map faces a pending court challenge.

What's next: - The Ballot Brief will keep expanding coverage as the 2026 election cycle advances. - Tennessee lookups will update as courts rule on the redrawn congressional map. - The free widget gives the site a path to wider distribution through third-party publishers and civic sites.

The bottom line: - The Ballot Brief is positioning itself as a free, nonpartisan layer on top of official election records, designed to make ballots easier to understand and compare.