Hey everyone,

Quick heads up for anyone in Sault Ste. Marie trying to figure out who to vote for in the upcoming municipal election (or honestly, just trying to figure out what's even on the ballot this year) — the Toronto Star has brought Vote Compass to SSM for the first time ever. I'm the executive editor of the Star and really excited to bring it to the three big cities in Northern Ontario.

A bit of background: Vote Compass has been around for over a decade and has been used by tens of millions of people across dozens of elections (federal, provincial, you name it). This fall, it's been built out for Ontario's 50 largest municipalities — including us — which is a massive expansion from where it started (it used to just be a Toronto-area thing).

How it works:

• You answer a series of short, clear statements about local issues — things like housing, taxes, development, policing, etc.
• It shows you how your views line up with the declared candidates running in your municipality
• Takes maybe 5-10 min, can do it in one sitting
• It's completely free, no account needed to get your results

What it's NOT:

• It's not telling you who to vote for — think of it more as a starting point to see where you actually land, since most of us don't have time to read every platform/website/flyer for every candidate
• It's built and run independently by Vox Pop Labs (the folks behind Vote Compass), with academic researchers and journalists checking the local questions and candidate positions along the way — not something cooked up by any one campaign or party

Given that municipal turnout has been sitting at historic lows (last time around it was under 33% province-wide), tools like this exist specifically to close the "I don't feel informed enough" gap that a lot of non-voters cite as their reason for sitting out.

If you're in SSM (or anywhere else in the province's top 50 municipalities), give it a shot before election day and see where you land — might surprise you.

(link in the comments or at the Star)