About
Ballot305 is a free, independent, nonpartisan voter guide for Miami-Dade County, built and run by Brit Lawrence (@realbritty), a Miami Beach resident.
Creator’s note
I built Ballot305 because I couldn’t get my friends to vote. The problem wasn’t that they didn’t care; there was simply too much friction involved in getting informed. Information overwhelm inevitably leads to apathy.
With a background in economics, my first instinct when it comes to researching what’s on the ballot is to look at the incentives. That’s where “follow the money” came from. I built this platform to shine a light on very important but extremely opaque down-ballot races, drawing a clear throughline from campaign donors to official actions, all in one easily accessible place.
— Brit
Who runs it
Ballot305 is not affiliated with any candidate, campaign, political party, political committee, or government office, including the Miami-Dade Elections Department. It is not an official ballot and does not record votes.
Who pays for it
Ballot305 is paid for by its creator and by readers who chip in. It takes no money from candidates, campaigns, parties, or political committees. The running costs are web hosting and the AI service used for research.
Where the information comes from
Donor and spending figures come from public filings with the Federal Election Commission, the Florida Division of Elections, Miami-Dade County, and city clerks. Endorsements, ratings, and background come from AI-assisted research of public web sources, linked on each page. How it works explains every rule, including what the tool can get wrong.
Donor names come from public records. They are shown to inform voters and may not be used to solicit contributions or for any commercial purpose. Federal law restricts that use of FEC contributor information.
Corrections
Every candidate and measure page has a Report a problem with this page link at the bottom. Reports go straight to the site owner. We review reports within 24 hours and take down anything false while we correct it.
Candidates, campaigns, and anyone named on the site can also write to corrections@ballot305.org.
Privacy
Ballot305 has no accounts and no ads. Your ballot plan is saved only in the browser on your own device. On a shared computer, use Forget everything on this device under your saved ballot plans when you're done. The site does not collect your name or address. The early voting site finder sorts by distance in your browser; your location or ZIP code never leaves your device. Its map images load from OpenStreetMap, which sees only the map area on screen. If you send a problem report, it keeps what you wrote, and contact details only if you give them, for 90 days.
Open source
All of the code is public on GitHub under the MIT license.