What The Media Is Saying “... A unique effort to fill an information void for young people trying to become educated voters.” The Washington Post “ ...a valuable resource to anyone paying attention to the 2008 campaign.” NYTimes’ The Caucus Blog “... the site has been tipped for success by 2004 election bloggers.” CBS News via UWIRE “... with excellent design and some very clever features (such as the ability to compare several candidates’ stances on an issue side by side), the site makes the election start to look simple.” College Mogul “... [VoteGopher] has made understanding politics enjoyable ... hopefully [the] site will lead to more informed -- and more active -- young voters.” “Pauline’s Picks” “... It’s a much more fun and interesting site than some of the traditional voter-information sites.” Harvard Law Blog

For The Media

Download the PDF of our press kit

VoteGopher is the ultimate Election 2008 study guide – for busy Americans and political pundits alike.  Our team of college students and young voters has analyzed an abundance of election information to bring you concise coverage of what really matters when casting your vote: the issues. On 25 issues, VoteGopher provides you with the tools you need to make an informed choice this November. We dig. You decide.

Our Site

VoteGopher is your one-stop Election 2008 hub - a non-partisan source for comparing the candidates' positions on the issues. What makes us unique?

• Issues-Based, Not Horse-Race Coverage.
  We focus on the issues, leaving the horse-race to the talking heads on TV.


• Non-Partisan and Unbiased. 
  We promise to give you untainted, objective information.  We even make all of our writers take an oath of non-partisanship.


• For Smart But Busy Americans: 
  We know that you want to make an informed choice in November, but we also know that life is busy. Because you don't have the time it takes to navigate through the media jungle for accurate and specific information on the issues, we’re here to help.  Our election study guide is extensive yet easily-digestible.  Even more, our video breakdowns make learning about the election easier and more enjoyable than ever before.


• Interactive. 
  Our site is more than just information.  Here are some of our best interactive features:
• My Ballot. If you’re deciding between McCain and Obama, My Ballot is an a Thorough Yet Easy Way to organize your thoughts and Find Your Candidate. 
• Find Election Coverage. If you are overwhelemed by the number of election news stories or video clips online, use our Multimedia Finder to find the best, most relevant news articles, videos, and blog postings.  And help us dig by submitting the best election coverage you find online.

Our Mission

While VoteGopher is meant to help all Americans, we especially want to encourage young people to vote this November.  We hope our peers between the ages of 18 and 30 will use VoteGopher to educate themselves on the issues and ultimately vote on election day.

This election can become more than the election of our President. If we all cast informed votes, we can assert the strength of our generation. We can ensure that the America of tomorrow is the America we want to inherit from our parents and share with our children.

Our Story

VoteGopher was founded in 2007 by Will Ruben, then a sophomore at Harvard College.  No matter how hard he looked, Will couldn’t find a website that summarized the presidential candidates’ positions on the all the issues he cared about – so he decided to create one.  He recruited a non-partisan team of his peers and, by October 2007, VoteGopher was ready to launch.  During the primary season, our site received acclaim as voters sought to navigate a crowded field of contenders.  After winning Harvard’s Innovation Challenge, we have expanded our operations and launched VoteGopher 2.0.

Our Team

Our team is passionate about politics. We want all voters to have easy access to the information necessary to make an informed choice.

Our founder and CEO is Will Ruben, a rising junior at Harvard College. Feel free to write him at will@votegopher.com. Will's roommate, Alex Lavoie, is our COO. You can contact him at alex@votegopher.com. Our Content Director is Andrew Prokop, a recent Harvard graduate.

Other dedicated members of our team include: Larry Arbuthnott , Lauren Hawkins, Emily Karram (Marketing and Partnerships), Liz Altmaier, Luke Vargas, Alec Barrett, Sam Barr (Content), and Stacy Carlson, Kiran Bhat, Brian Bolduc, Martin Eiermann, Kristina Budelis, Johanna Peace, Nihar Shah (Contributing Editors).

For press, partnership, or advertising inquires, please contact us. We also welcome your thoughts on our site. Enjoy our digging!