Are you looking for a nonpartisan voter guide to the Mike Ross vs. Asa Hutchinson Governor's 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 Mike Ross and Asa Hutchinson, with additional links at the bottom for each candidate if you'd like to dig deeper. (You can also find Arkansas's Senate guide here.)
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Education: Do you support increasing funding for K-12 education?
Ross: Yes (also supports increased Pre-K funding)
Hutchinson: No (and believes can't afford expanding pre-K funding beyond current level)
Education: Do you support providing vouchers to parents to send their children to private schools with public money?
Ross: No
Hutchinson: No
Education: Do you support increasing funding for higher education?
Ross: No
Hutchinson: No
Elections: Do you support requiring registered voters to present a photo-ID in order to vote?
Ross: No
Hutchinson: Yes
Elections: Do you support increasing restrictions on campaign donations?
Ross: Yes
Hutchinson: Unknown
Environment: Do you believe that human activity is a major factor contributing to climate change?
Ross: Yes
Hutchinson: Unknown
Environment: Do you support taking government action to limit the levels of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere?
Ross: No
Hutchinson: No
Environment: Do you support government mandates and/or subsidies for renewable energy?
Ross: Yes
Hutchinson: Unknown
Gay Marriage: Do you support gay marriage?
Ross:
Hutchinson:
Gun Control: Do you support enacting more restrictive gun control legislation?
Ross: No
Hutchinson: No
Healthcare: Do you support the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare?
Ross: Yes
Hutchinson: No
Healthcare: Should your state accept federal funds so Medicaid will cover people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty line?
Ross: Yes
Hutchinson: Will study whether to extend current coverage through private insurance
Marijuana: Do you support efforts to decriminalize and/or legalize marijuana?
Ross: No
Hutchinson: No--raided medical marijuana establishments while DEA head
Minimum Wage: Do you support raising the minimum wage?
Ross: Yes
Hutchinson: No
Social Issues: Should abortion be highly restricted?
Ross: Yes
Hutchinson: Yes
Social Issues: Should employers be able to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if they disagree with it morally?
Ross: Unknown
Hutchinson: Yes
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.)
Ross: No
Hutchinson: No
Taxes: Would you increase taxes on corporations and/or high-income individuals to pay for public services?
Ross: No
Hutchinson: No
Learn more about the candidates:
Ross: Mike Ross Vote Smart pages and Mike Ross On the Issues pages
Hutchinson: Asa Hutchinson Vote Smart pages and Asa Hutchinson On the Issues pages
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Other gubernatorial candidates include Josh Drake (Green Party) and Frank Gilbert (Libertarian). Due to limited space, we can't include their positions, but invite you to check out their websites.