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)
No opinion on topic 1: Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right (0 points on Social scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Strongly Favors topic 2: Legally require hiring women & minorities (-5 points on Economic scale)	Increase disability funding; we all succeed together: Strongly Favors topic 2 Sustained $125B federal investment in HBCUs: Strongly Favors topic 2 Trump is only against immigration for non-white people: Strongly Favors topic 2
Strongly Favors topic 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage (+5 points on Social scale)	Transgendered hate crimes: unequivocally prosecute severely: Strongly Favors topic 3 Represent LGBT rights in human rights action abroad: Strongly Favors topic 3 Directly fund academic research to find cure for AIDS: Strongly Favors topic 3 Collect census data on LGBTQ status: Strongly Favors topic 3
No opinion on topic 4: Keep God in the public sphere (0 points on Social scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Strongly Favors topic 5: Expand ObamaCare (-5 points on Economic scale)	Supports public option; allow private insurance: Favors topic 5 More funding is needed for mental health care: Strongly Favors topic 5
Opposes topic 6: Privatize Social Security (-3 points on Economic scale)	Great countries don't break their major promises: Opposes topic 6
Strongly Opposes topic 7: Vouchers for school choice (-5 points on Economic scale)	Hold charter schools to same standards as public schools: Opposes topic 7 I will tackle the student debt crisis head on: Strongly Opposes topic 7
Opposes topic 8: Fight EPA regulatory over-reach (+2 points on Social scale)	Environmental justice means clean air & water: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Nuclear energy is risky & not cost competitive: Favors topic 8
Strongly Favors topic 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime (-5 points on Social scale)	Focus on white supremacist violence as domestic terrorism: Strongly Favors topic 9
Strongly Opposes topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (-5 points on Economic scale)	Gun violence is a public health epidemic: Strongly Opposes topic 10 I will declare gun violence a public health epidemic: Strongly Opposes topic 10
Strongly Favors topic 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy (-5 points on Economic scale)	Supports higher estate tax, annual wealth tax: Strongly Favors topic 11 Repeal Trump tax cuts; close corporate tax loopholes: Strongly Favors topic 11 Calculate CA corporate income tax based on in-state sales: Strongly Favors topic 11
Favors topic 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens (+2 points on Social scale)	Decriminalize unauthorized border crossings: Favors topic 12
Favors topic 13: Support & expand free trade (+2 points on Economic scale)	Undo Trump tariffs; negotiate trade deals for U.S. workers: Favors topic 13 No trade war, but stand up to China on intellectual property: Favors topic 13 Trump tax plan & trade war are failures; I can show how: Favors topic 13
Strongly Opposes topic 14: Support American Exceptionalism (-5 points on Economic scale)	Set a strategy: What are we trying to accomplish in Mideast?: Strongly Opposes topic 14 America's brand in the world our most important protection: Opposes topic 14 Rebuild traditional multilateral alliances like NATO: Strongly Opposes topic 14 More foreign aid for Central America: Opposes topic 14 Unilateral action, without allies, makes absolutely no sense: Strongly Opposes topic 14
Opposes topic 15: Expand the military (+2 points on Social scale)	National Service Plan: $50B for public service: Favors topic 15 Refocus and reduce U.S. military spending: Strongly Opposes topic 15
Strongly Favors topic 16: Make voter registration easier (+5 points on Social scale)	The right to vote is gateway to inclusive democracy: Strongly Favors topic 16 Break the corporate stranglehold of our government: Strongly Favors topic 16
Favors topic 17: Avoid foreign entanglements (+2 points on Social scale)	Withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan: Strongly Favors topic 17 Keep US troops in northern Syria: Opposes topic 17 Diplomatic measures must always be the first choice: Favors topic 17
Strongly Favors topic 18: Prioritize green energy (-5 points on Economic scale)	Supports Green New Deal & carbon-neutrality by 2045: Strongly Favors topic 18 On Day 1: declare climate crisis a national emergency: Strongly Favors topic 18 End subsidies & tax breaks for fossil fuels: Strongly Favors topic 18 We need to lead the world on climate, with allies abroad: Strongly Favors topic 18 Ban fracking: Favors topic 18
Favors topic 19: Marijuana is a gateway drug (-3 points on Social scale)	72,000 died from opioids last year; that's a health crisis: Favors topic 19
Strongly Favors topic 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery (-5 points on Economic scale)	Billions for affordable housing; market won't do it: Strongly Favors topic 20 Increase the earned income tax credit: Favors topic 20 Our affordable housing situation is a crisis: Strongly Favors topic 20 Break up monopolies but we should focus on the positive: Favors topic 20