VoteMatch Responses (Click here for VoteMatch quiz)
VoteMatch Question & Answer (Click on question for explanation and background)	Based on these stances: (Click on topic for excerpt & citation)
Strongly Favors topic 1: Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right (+5 points on Social scale)	End laws restricting woman's right to direct her health care: Strongly Favors topic 1 FactCheck: No, would not execute babies after birth: Favors topic 1 Repeal sonogram requirement to get an abortion: Favors topic 1 Led fight against transvaginal ultrasound requirement: Strongly Favors topic 1 Protect women's reproductive rights: Strongly Favors topic 1 Keep abortion funding for women carrying fetal abnormalities: Strongly Favors topic 1 Opposes restrictive TRAP laws & dangerous personhood bill: Strongly Favors topic 1
Strongly Favors topic 2: Legally require hiring women & minorities (-5 points on Economic scale)	Remove discriminatory language from Virginia laws: Favors topic 2 Outed for blackface photo in 1984 medical school yearbook: Opposes topic 2 Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment: Strongly Favors topic 2 Look harder for diverse candidates for leadership roles: Strongly Favors topic 2 Blacks are twice as likely to be arrested for pot possession: Strongly Favors topic 2 Stop the Republican war on women: Strongly Favors topic 2
Strongly Favors topic 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage (+5 points on Social scale)	Backs marriage rights for same-sex couples: Strongly Favors topic 3 Tie-breaking vote against gay workplace discrimination: Strongly Favors topic 3 Treat same-sex couples equally and fairly under the law: Strongly Favors topic 3
Strongly Opposes topic 4: Keep God in the public sphere (+5 points on Social scale)	Religious sectarianism has no place in politics: Strongly Opposes topic 4
Strongly Favors topic 5: Expand ObamaCare (-5 points on Economic scale)	Fund doula services for pregnant women: Favors topic 5 Expand Medicare, address racial disparities of pandemic: Favors topic 5 When people are healthy, they contribute to our economy: Strongly Favors topic 5 Remove age cap on insurance coverage for autism: Strongly Favors topic 5 No family should be one illness away from financial demise: Strongly Favors topic 5 Proud voice in favor of Medicaid expansion: Strongly Favors topic 5 Expand access to Medicaid for 400,000 of our citizens: Favors topic 5 Medicaid expansion will save taxpayers billions: Favors topic 5
No opinion on topic 6: Privatize Social Security (0 points on Economic scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Strongly Opposes topic 7: Vouchers for school choice (-5 points on Economic scale)	$30 billion to rebuild, reimagine all K-12 schools in state: Strongly Opposes topic 7 $95 million for early childhood education for at-risk kids: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Pay raise for teachers, to retain the best and brightest: Opposes topic 7 Federal grant to create 3,000 pre-K education spots: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Invest in early childhood education: Opposes topic 7 Historically strong commitment to public education: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Restore and increase funding for K-12 education: Strongly Opposes topic 7
Opposes topic 8: Fight EPA regulatory over-reach (+2 points on Social scale)	$12 million into natural resources agencies: Strongly Favors topic 8 Modernize regulations; strengthen enforcement: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Transportation bill including investments in mass transit: Opposes topic 8 I reject idea that environmental regulations harm economy: Strongly Opposes topic 8
Opposes topic 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime (+2 points on Social scale)	It's time to end the death penalty in Virginia: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Capital crime for murder of law enforcement officers: Strongly Favors topic 9 Raise threshold for felony larceny; 2nd chance after mistake: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Spare our first responders from devastating budget cuts: Favors topic 9
Strongly Opposes topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (-5 points on Economic scale)	Appreciate thoughts & prayers but need commonsense gun laws: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Common sense gun laws do not violate Second Amendment: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Ban assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines: Strongly Opposes topic 10 More deaths due to guns than car accidents: so let's act: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Start with universal background checks: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Supports universal background checks: Strongly Opposes topic 10 No concealed carry without a permit: Opposes topic 10 Keep guns out of the hands of criminals & the mentally ill: Opposes topic 10
Strongly Favors topic 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy (-5 points on Economic scale)	Raise income tax rate by 1% for income over $500,000: Strongly Favors topic 11
Strongly Favors topic 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens (+5 points on Social scale)	Opposed requiring local police to enforce immigration laws: Strongly Favors topic 12 Stand up against ICE; our doors are open: Strongly Favors topic 12 Support driver's licenses for illegal immigrants: Strongly Favors topic 12 Work with federal government to enforce immigration laws: Opposes topic 12
No opinion on topic 13: Support & expand free trade (0 points on Economic scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
No opinion on topic 14: Support American Exceptionalism (0 points on Economic scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Favors topic 15: Expand the military (-3 points on Social scale)	Tuition assistance for National Guard, plus Tech Talent: Favors topic 15 Strengthen Virginia's relationship with the Armed Services: Favors topic 15
Strongly Favors topic 16: Make voter registration easier (+5 points on Social scale)	Amend constitution so that ex-cons can vote automatically: Strongly Favors topic 16 We need to make it easier to vote, not harder: Strongly Favors topic 16 Finally allow no-excuse absentee voting: Strongly Favors topic 16 End unnecessary restrictions: no-excuse absentee ballots: Strongly Favors topic 16 Make absentee voting easier: Strongly Favors topic 16 Nonpartisan redistricting so voters, not pols, pick reps: Strongly Favors topic 16 Mid-decade redistricting bill is borderline corruption: Favors topic 16
No opinion on topic 17: Avoid foreign entanglements (0 points on Social scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Strongly Favors topic 18: Prioritize green energy (-5 points on Economic scale)	Make Virginia 100% carbon free by 2050: Strongly Favors topic 18 Create clean energy jobs in rural communities: Strongly Favors topic 18 Restrict offshore oil and gas drilling off Virginia coast: Strongly Favors topic 18 We must act to address climate change: Favors topic 18
Strongly Opposes topic 19: Marijuana is a gateway drug (+5 points on Social scale)	Time to join 16 others states, make marijuana legal: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Release unthreatening older or terminally offenders: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Think innovatively about treating pain, to avoid opioids: Opposes topic 19 Make marijuana possession a civil penalty only: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Be open-minded about medicinal plants like marijuana: Strongly Opposes topic 19 We spend $67 million a year enforcing our marijuana laws: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Drug problems are not confined to youth and minorities: Opposes topic 19
Favors topic 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery (-3 points on Economic scale)	Broadband is as critical now as electricity in 1900s: Favors topic 20 $25 million new dollars to housing trust fund: Strongly Favors topic 20 Affordable housing attracts jobs & builds communities: Strongly Favors topic 20 Strengthen workforce development and expand apprenticeships: Favors topic 20 Cut spending by $4.6 billion to keep our budget balanced: Strongly Opposes topic 20 Tiebreaker in favor of increasing the minimum wage: Favors topic 20

Ralph Northam is a Hard-Core Liberal
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