Update: ASAP led the NYS Science on the Ballot Coalition to have the second-highest number of candidate responses of all states, and we won a prize!
In collaboration with the National Science Policy Network (NSPN), we spearheaded the New York State Coalition of Science on the Ballot (SOTB), a nonpartisan initiative under the NSPN, which aims to clarify candidates’ stances on scientific issues in our state and federal elections. We developed a short list of questions addressing topics of great concern for New York State voters, including waste management policy, the opioid crisis, and public health; and surveyed nearly 400 candidates for office in NY, including candidates for New York State Assembly and Senate as well as the United States House of Representatives.
ASAP members rated candidate responses with a numerical grade, those rating were then averaged and converted to a letter grade scale.
| Candidate | Race | Overall Letter Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Tonko | US House NY-20 | A+ |
| John Mannion | US House NY-22 | A- |
| Thomas Carle | US House NY-23 | B+ |
| April Baskin | NYSS-63 | B+ |
| Scott Comegys | NYSS-54 | A |
| Michele Frazier | NYSS-51 | B+ |
| Jeffery Elder | AD-145 | B |
| Ian Bergstrom | AD-22 | B |
| Phil Steck | AD-110 | B+ |
| Garrett Petersen | AD-7 | A- |
| Marcela Mitaynes | AD-51 | B+ |
| Harpreet Toor | AD-17 | B |
| Scott Gray | AD-116 | C |
| Mike Bobseine | AD-150 | B+ |
| Joe Seeman | AD-112 | B+ |
| Pamela Hunter | AD-128 | A- |
| Tina Posterli | AD-20 | A+ |
| Michael Reynolds | AD-5 | B+ |
| Alicia Purdy | AD-109 | B |
| Aamir Sultan | AD-10 | B+ |
| Deborah J. Glick | AD-66 | A + |
| Vicki Davis | AD-121 | B+ |
Comments regarding the ratings can be found here. Raw candidate responses can be found here.