Are you looking for a nonpartisan voter guide to the David Young vs. Staci Appel Congressional race? One that will give you an unbiased, no-spin comparison of candidate positions on key issues? That's what our Campus Election Engagement Project guide will give you! We are a national nonpartisan initiative working with college and university administrators, faculty, and student leaders to increase student participation in America's elections. For the 2014 elections we have created and distributed voter guides to campuses in more than 20 states so they can provide their communities with accurate information for informed voting. Because these guides have been so well received and are useful for all voting citizens who want to be better informed, we are also posting them here.
We developed our guides by analyzing information from trusted resources such as www.votesmart.org, www.ontheissues.org, www.ballotpedia.com, www.politifact.com, www.factcheck.org, www.vote411.org and from candidate websites, public debates and interviews, and statements in major media outlets. We also showed them to groups like campus Young Republicans and Young Democrats at the schools we work with to verify their fairness and lack of bias.
So here are the issue-by-issue stands for David Young and Staci Appel, with additional links at the bottom for each candidate if you'd like to dig deeper. (You can also find Iowa's Governor and Senate guides here.)
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Budget: Did you support raising the Federal debt ceiling with no strings attached?
Young: No
Appel: Unknown
Budget: Do you support a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment?
Young: Yes if caps could be removed during wartime.
Appel: No
Budget: In order to reduce the deficit do you support reducing defense spending?
Young: Would review and possibly cut spending for all departments and agencies, including defense.
Appel: Unknown
Campaign Finance: Do you support the DISCLOSE Act, which would require key funders of political ads to put their names on those ads?
Young: Unknown
Appel: Yes. Also proponent of giving all qualified voters vouchers to contribute to federal candidates to counterbalance wealthy interests.
Campaign Finance: Do you support the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which allowed unlimited independent political expenditures by corporations and unions?
Young: Unknown. Has avoided direct answer.
Appel: No. Supports efforts to get ruling reversed.
Economy: Do you support raising the minimum wage?
Young: Has historically opposed but would consider supporting if it included tax relief for businesses.
Appel: Yes
Economy: Do you support extending unemployment benefits beyond 26 weeks?
Young: Unknown. Has avoided direct answer
Appel: Yes
Economy: Do you support the Dodd-Frank Act, which established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and sought to increase regulation of Wall Street corporations and other financial institutions?
Young: Unknown
Appel: Yes
Education: Do you support refinancing of student loans at lower rates, paid for by increasing taxes on income over a million dollars?
Young: No
Appel: Unknown on specific approach, but has made lowering student loan rates a prime issue.
Environment: Do you believe that human activity is a major factor contributing to climate change?
Young: No. Believes cause of climate change is still undecided.
Appel: Yes
Environment: Do you support government action to limit the levels of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere?
Young: No
Appel: Yes
Environment: Do you support government mandates and/or subsidies for renewable energy?
Young: Supports current wind energy tax credits but wants to phase them out and move to self-sufficiency within 5-7 years.
Appel: Yes. Also advocates for more investment in renewable energy research
Gay Marriage: Do you support gay marriage?
Young: Ambiguous
Appel: Yes
Gun Control: Do you support enacting more restrictive gun control legislation?
Young: No
Appel: No, but loopholes on background checks should be closed
Healthcare: Do you support repealing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare?
Young: Yes
Appel: No. Wants to address needed improvements.
Healthcare: Did you support shutting down the federal government in order to defund Obamacare in 2013?
Young: Yes
Appel: No
Immigration: Do you support the D.R.E.A.M. Act, which would allow children brought into the country illegally to achieve legal status if they've graduated from high school, have a clean legal record, and attend college or serve in the military?
Young: Unknown
Appel: Yes
Immigration: Do you support the comprehensive immigration plan passed by the Senate in 2013, which includes a pathway to citizenship and increased funding for border security?
Young: No. But believes that undocumented immigrants who serve in the U.S. military should be allowed to become citizens.
Appel: Yes
Iraq: Should the US recommit troops to Iraq to combat the rise in insurgency?
Young: Unknown
Appel: No
Social Issues: Should abortion be highly restricted?
Young: Yes. Only exception is when life of mother is at risk.
Appel: No
Social Issues: Should employers be able to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if they disagree with it morally?
Young: Yes
Appel: No
Social Issues: Should Planned Parenthood receive public funds for non-abortion health services?
Young: No
Appel: Yes
Social Security: Do you support partial privatization of Social Security?
Young: Yes
Appel: No
Taxes: Have you signed the Americans for Tax Reform Pledge to oppose any tax increases to raise revenue? (The answer to this question is taken from the database of signatories of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, created by Americans for Tax Reform. Signers to the pledge promise to oppose "any and all tax increases" meant to generate additional revenue.)
Young: Yes
Appel: No
Taxes: Would you increase taxes on corporations and/or high-income individuals to pay for public services?
Young: No
Appel: Unknown
Learn more about the candidates:
Young: David Young Vote Smart pages
Appel: Staci Appel Vote Smart pages
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Other District 3 candidates include Brian Jack Holder (Independent) and Ed Wright (Libertarian). Due to limited space, we can't include their positions, but invite you to check out their websites.