Rating the 2024 presidential candidates
A methodology post, not a campaign ad.
NOTE: When you finish this post, you won’t know who I’m voting for. I’m sharing (in the form of a spreadsheet) the process by which I chose who to vote for in the 2024 election, but not my own results. I hope the spreadsheet helps you make an informed choice as well.
I haven’t been able to wholeheartedly support any candidate for US president since I first voted, back in 1976. I’ve often refused to vote. I was tempted to do that again in 2024.
But … recently I came across an email from years ago in which I said, “I’m not going to vote for either candidate, and if enough people do that, someone will notice.” Well, dammit, no one's noticing, and no one’s offering me better choices.
So this year, I’ve resolved that I will vote, even though it will be for the candidate I dislike least. But also, to whatever degree I can, I’m going to remind family, friends, and acquaintances that yes, there are issues one should judge candidates on and yes, there are scales for doing that. Let’s try voting on issues, policies, and principles rather than slogans, gut instincts, memes, vibes, “She’s not Trump”, “He’s not a Democrat”, and so on.
The attached spreadsheet is designed to give you an overview of the candidates’ positions on a wide range of issues, weighted according to your own values. The goal: find out which candidate is most in favor (or least opposed) to what matters to you.
ANOTHER NOTE: You’ll download the spreadsheet and fill it out offline. No one will know your results unless you tell them.
Scoring the candidates on issues
Assuming that we ought to judge a candidate on issues: which issues? For the spreadsheet, I compiled a list based on my notes from the 2020 election, and also on reading this year’s official Republican and Democratic party platforms.
On what scale should we rate the candidates on those issues? Republican and Democratic positions change over time. Right vs. Left can be subjective. For each issue, I’ve used a spectrum - a scoring range - from zero (most government control) to 5 (most respect for individual rights).
At the “0” end, the assumption is that you and everyone else need a society to survive. That means the government (representing society) knows best what needs to be done, and must have free rein to do it. The state’s scope and powers are therefore unlimited. Whether it’s democratic (majority rule) or authoritarian (rule by one person or a small group), the government can control any and every facet of your personal and professional life.
At the “5” end of the scoring range, the assumption is that you survive by your reasoning mind, as does everyone else. Any society you choose to belong to must allow you to succeed or fail by your own thoughts and efforts. Its government must recognize your individual rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness). At this end of the spectrum, government is rigidly delimited. It exists only to protect each individual’s rights and property from force or fraud by other citizens or foreigners.
YET ANOTHER NOTE: The goal of this post isn’t to change your mind about where on the government-control spectrum you feel most comfortable. It’s for you to see how your values align (or don’t) with the values of the 2024 presidential candidates.
Ranking the scores according to your values
Scoring the candidates on a series of issues isn’t enough to make an informed decision in the 2024 election. The attached spreadsheet weights the candidates’ scores based on your values. That is: how important is each issue is to you, personally?
Example: If you set the value of abortion as a 15 (on a scale of 1-20) and give Harris a score of 5, her total on that issue is 75. If you give Trump a 3 on abortion, his total for that issue is 45. If crime rates 20 with you, and you give Harris a 1 and Trump a 5, their running totals will jump to 95 and 145, respectively.
Filling out the spreadsheet (“POTUS_2024_spreadsheet.xlsx”)
It’s you casting the vote, so you (yes, you) need to fill out 3 columns in the spreadsheet. Depending on your knowledge of current affairs and the candidates’ policies, filling out the spreadsheet will probably take between 30 minutes and 3-4 hours.
To put that in context: how many times weekly do you hear about an action of the president of the United States that affects the health, livelihood and happiness of you and those you love? Your informed vote in November is an investment in the next 4 or more years.
How to fill out the spreadsheet:
Download the spreadsheet. Open it in Excel, Google Sheets (free), or whatever spreadsheet software you've got.
Fill in Values, the first yellow column. On a scale of 0-20, how important is each issue to you? For example: I care about Taiwan’s independence (5), but not as much as I care about censorship and abortion (20 each).
Fill in Harris Scores and Trump Scores, the second and third yellow columns. How do you rate the candidates on each issue, based on the scale of 1-5 in the Scoring Range column? If you’re not up on the candidates’ statements on the issues, the PDF “POTUS_2024_research” provides info. More on that in the next section.
The totals for each candidate appear in red at the foot of the second and third yellow columns. A lower running total means the candidate leans toward more government control. A higher score means the candidate leans toward individual rights.
Additional issues. If an issue that’s important to you doesn’t appear on the spreadsheet, feel free to add a row for it. Make sure your Scoring Range uses 0 for options that involve government control, 5 for options that favor individual rights.
Candidates’ policies (“POTUS_2024_research.pdf”)
While I was compiling the list of issues, I also compiled a list of the candidates’ positions. As I said above, if you follow current events, you may not need to look at “POTUS_2024_research.pdf” at all. But if you need information on a specific issue, you can easily find it via a quick search of the PDF. The issues in the research document are organized in the same order as the issues on the spreadsheet.
What sources did I use for this document?
Reports of the candidates’ actions
Statements by the candidates (but not statements by candidates about each other)
Party platforms
Sources and dates are always noted, because sometimes (try not to be shocked!) politicians flip-flop on their positions on issues. The latest sources are from late September, because since then I’ve had uninvited and very demanding guests (Helene and Milton).
A friend told me that reading political statements is pointless, because we all know they’re meant only to entice voters. And yes, it would be naïve to assume the goal of the candidates is to make clear and unequivocal statements about their current positions and future actions. For example, the Republican platform doesn’t have a single mention of the Deep State; the Democratic platform doesn’t have a single mention of gender-affirming care.
Nevertheless, if you read published statements on a variety of issues, you can get a sense of what a given candidate and party consider worthy goals. Case in point: the opening pages of the Republican and Democratic party platforms.
Parting thoughts
This sort of meticulous, numerically based analysis doesn’t appeal to everyone. I’m posting it because it helped me sort out my thinking on the candidates, on the broad spectrum of government vs. individual rights. I’m hoping it will help others as well.
The spreadsheet could also be a useful springboard for discussion of politics. Perhaps someone you violently disagree with ranks the importance of the issues very differently. Perhaps he or she feels differently about the proper role of government. Wouldn’t it be interesting to find that out, rather than shouting at each other about specifics such as the border wall or at what week abortions should be illegal?
If you find this post, the spreadsheet, and/or the research document useful, please do share them. Make sure you leave my name and contact information on them.
Via PayPal, you can make a one-time soothe-Dianne’s-nerves donation. I hate current politics and I hate spreadsheets. To create what you’ve just read, I immersed myself in both for weeks. Urgh.
Another option: become a paid supporter on Substack - it’ll encourage me to do more of this sort of post, as well as the Timeline 1700-1900 series that’s currently in progress.
