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YOU CAN APPROVE MORE THAN ONE. IT'S NOT A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL.
Published by Langhorne P. Breedlove · November 10, 2026 · 12:52 AM ET
Last updated · November 10, 2026 · 4:42 PM ET
HELLO, FELLOW MUGWUMPS.
HELLO, FELLOW MUGWUMPS.
Our first monthly ballots are scheduled to drop January 1, 2027. Until then, we've got time to meet the people being considered, read a little, and make sure some good names don't get overlooked.
The ballot is still closed while we finish testing. January 1 is the plan, not permission to vote early. Here's what you can do today.
01 · BECOME A MUGWUMP.
01 · BECOME A MUGWUMP.
Not a member yet? Join us. It's free, and you'll get a permanent member ID after verifying your email. Keep that number. When the polls open, it'll help us recognize your membership. You'll also complete a separate security check to vote—an ID by itself isn't a password.
Already a Mugwump? You're all set. Keep the number you have; there's no need to sign up again.
02 · MEET THE PEOPLE.
02 · MEET THE PEOPLE.
Take a look around the election pages. You'll find familiar names, unfamiliar ones, and people whose work hasn't involved politics at all. Read what they've actually done, where they've worked, and what we still need to verify. Don't mistake a research profile for a campaign announcement.
We're covering the 2027 governor elections in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi; the expected Minnesota Senate special; the 2028 presidential election; 34 regular Senate elections; and the expected Tennessee Senate special. A researched person won't necessarily appear on a monthly ballot. That comes after review.
→ EXPLORE THE MUGWUMPS WEBSITE
03 · NOMINATE SOMEONE.
03 · NOMINATE SOMEONE.
Know somebody worth hearing from? Maybe it's a nurse who knows what a rural hospital needs, a teacher who hasn't stopped showing up, a machinist, a farmer, a neighborhood organizer—or the one person in town who always seems to know how to get things done.
Tell us who they are and give us a public source so we can find the right person. They don't have to be running for office. And a nomination isn't a vote, an endorsement, or a claim that they've agreed to run.
WHEN DO NOMINATIONS CLOSE?
WHEN DO NOMINATIONS CLOSE?
At the start of the month when that race holds its primary—12:00 AM Eastern on the first day. If a primary falls in June, for example, you have through May 31 to send in a name.
Each race has its own cutoff. For special elections or states without a conventional primary, we'll post the applicable deadline once it's confirmed. Nominations that arrive before the cutoff still need review; submitting early doesn't guarantee a place on the ballot.
04 · THE REST OF THE SITE IS WORTH YOUR TIME.
04 · THE REST OF THE SITE IS WORTH YOUR TIME.
There's more to being a Mugwump than checking a box. We've got fourteen Factions with different ideas about government and society, five Pillars of Justice full of problems and proposed policies, and the Vault, where history and the American Proletariat essays live.
Read the parts that interest you. Disagree with something. Look at the sources. Bring a question back. We are Mugwumps, not a room full of people who have to think alike.
FACTIONS · Find out where these political traditions come from and what separates them.
JUSTICE · Read the proposals on wages, care, civil rights, government, land, and water—and the problems they're meant to address.
→ EXPLORE THE FIVE PILLARS OF JUSTICE
THE VAULT · History, power, public problems, and American Proletariat essays. Plenty to read; no loyalty oath required.
05 · HOW THE BALLOT WORKS.
05 · HOW THE BALLOT WORKS.
When voting opens, choose a contest, read the profiles, and approve whoever you like. One person, several, or none. You don't have to pick just one. That's the whole point of an approval poll.
Change your mind during the month? Update your choices. We count only your latest valid ballot for that contest. The earlier versions stay in a private audit record; they don't become extra votes.
Next month, everyone starts fresh. January's approvals won't carry into February. We're interested in what members think now, not just what they thought when they first signed up.
06 · A NEW MONTH, A NEW BALLOT.
06 · A NEW MONTH, A NEW BALLOT.
The plan is simple: polls open at midnight Eastern on the first of the month and close at 11:59:59 PM Eastern on the last day. January runs January 1–31; February runs February 1–28; March runs March 1–31. We account for daylight saving time.
After a month closes, we'll check the totals before publishing them. Once published, that month's results stay in the archive.
07 · READING THE RESULTS.
07 · READING THE RESULTS.
Say 100 verified Mugwumps take part in a Senate poll, and 63 approve one of the people listed. That's 63% approval among those 100 participants. Since everybody can approve more than one person, the percentages can add up to more than 100%.
We'll show the number of participants alongside the percentages. If nobody takes part, the approval figure is N/A—not 0%. Your individual choices stay private.
These are voluntary opinion polls of participating Mugwumps. They aren't official elections, endorsements, predictions, or scientific surveys of the wider electorate.
WE'LL SEE YOU IN JANUARY.
WE'LL SEE YOU IN JANUARY.
For now, join if you haven't, keep your member number, meet the people on the site, and nominate somebody you'd like the rest of us to know. A little reading now will make that first ballot a lot more interesting.
WE ARE ONE. · E PLURIBUS UNUM.
WE ARE ONE. · E PLURIBUS UNUM.
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