Frequently Asked Questions

What are Domestic Policy issues?

Domestic policy is a broad topic that covers issues important to life within the United States like gun control, the death penalty, and net neutrality.

What are Education issues?

Education policy deals with access to schools and what those schools teach. Examples of education policy include support or opposition for charter schools, Common Core, and policies governing student loans.

What are Foreign Policy issues?

Foreign policy is how the United States interacts with the rest of the world on subjects like the United Nations, terrorism, and the threats posed by other countries.

What are Healthcare issues?

Healthcare policy covers what is considered medical care, access to care, and how that care is paid for. Healthcare policy includes positions on issues like the Affordable Care Act, Medicare funding, and medical marijuana.

What are Immigration issues?

Immigration policy deals with how we approach people from other countries coming to the United States. Areas affected by immigration policy include requirements to become a citizen and President Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico.

What are Social issues?

Social issues are culturally focused laws and policies. Examples of social issues include marriage equality, abortion access, and first amendment rights.

What are Economic issues?

Economic issues deal with how the government collects and spends money. This includes tax policy, government deficits, and the minimum wage.

What are Environment issues?

Environmental policy regulates the effects of human activity on the environment. This includes areas such as climate change and energy production.

How are a candidate's positions on the issues determined?

We combine data from a variety of public sources like legislative voting records, candidate survey responses, and candidate position statements to assess candidates' positions relative to each other. We also actively work with candidates, campaigns, and voters to ensure we are presenting accurate information.

If you want to submit corrections/updates to a candidate's positions (including if you represent the candidate), please contact us here.

Why are you missing (insert candidate name)?

We are growing our database of candidates daily and seek to support every candidate we can. If you know of a particular candidate who we don't have listed, please reach out and let us know, and we will work to get them into our system. Dollars & Change supports candidates of all parties and affiliations.

Why do I see some candidates duplicated?

These represent separate campaign committees formed for different offices for the same candidate. Most often you will see this with a candidate who is a member of Congress and also running for President. The office will be specified in each listing on our site.

Why do you need my employment information?

We are required by federal law to collect and transmit this information so that your contribution can be properly reported to the FEC.

What happens to my payment information?

All payment processing happens through Democracy Engine, a secure payment processor established specifically for political contributions. Democracy Engine already powers a number of prominent fundraising organizations and we are proud to partner with them to offer safe, compliant transactions. Your payment details are not stored with Dollars & Change and are never shared with anyone.

Are there any fees?

Dollars & Change does not add a surcharge for donors; we take a small processing fee from each candidate we support.

Can other people see my political donations?

Donations made to candidates at the federal level are public record and viewable on the FEC website. These records include your name, city+state of residence, employment info, which candidates you donated to and how much. State and local reporting requirements vary but you should assume that these donations will also be public record.