By Doug Goodman -Founder & Executive Director Nevadans for Election Reform – March 20, 2024 A Connection: Candidate Background Checks and Election Reform – OPINION Congratulations. You’ve made it through the interview process and you have the job offer. But there is a caveat. Before your first day in the new job you have to pass a background check. Congratulations. You filed to become a member of your city council, county commission, state legislature, or congress and won your election….

What is media literacy, and why should I care about it? Media literacy is similar to fluency in a foreign language. It takes practice and experience to determine the credibility of a media source. This skill is particularly important to develop with the rise of misinformation and disinformation, which spread harmful narratives that disseminate quickly. What’s the difference between misinformation and disinformation? Misinformation is false or inaccurate information, while disinformation is false information which is intended to mislead. Sometimes, misinformation…

How should I decide who to vote for? Choosing a candidate is an overwhelming process. Transparency in Politics seeks to simplify the process by providing candidates with the TIP Certification Seal, indicating that they have undergone a background check for criminal record, resume, military history, and professional licensing. Voting by party is a simple way to narrow candidates based on your general political preferences. Voters should be empowered to look beyond party preference and think critically about who they choose…

What are the requirements to run for office in Nevada and most other states? There aren’t many requirements to run for office in Nevada or anywhere else! According to the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office, a candidate must be a certain age (varies by office), live in a certain area for certain offices for a certain period of time, and only a few offices have an education requirement!  For some offices, a petition with a certain number of signatures is…

Transparency In Politics Certification Seal What does the Transparency In Politics (TIP) Certification Seal mean? The Transparency In Politics Seal (TIP Seal) means that an elected official/candidate has ordered a PeopleTrail background check, reviewed the results, and has sent to report to TIP. Once the candidate signs the agreement with TIP, TIP simply posts the report on the website (click here). TIP makes no comment about anything included in the background check report. Elected officials or candidates who earn the…

You might be wondering WHY elected officials are not required to have background checks. What is the history of background checks for political candidates and elected officials? For many reasons, this doesn’t make sense! From our second email, you can see that many employers require background checks. Elected officials supervise people who have background checks-why don’t they have to have them themselves? A Bit of History The Founding Fathers knew their political folks. There was little anonymity and certainly, the…

Why do employers require background checks? Employers want to be sure that they’re hiring the person the applicant says he/she is and that the applicant is eligible to work in the US. So why shouldn’t we have background checks for political candidates? About 92-96% of employers require background checks for new hires. This is not only to control risk but also to ensure that their employees and customers are safe from harm. Companies want to ensure job seekers are honest…