An online tool developed by a McMaster researcher is helping boost political engagement by showing voters how their views align with candidates running for election.

Vote Compass, created by Clifton van der Linden about a decade ago, is a survey tool that has been used by millions of people around the world during election campaigns.

All candidates are asked to fill out a survey containing questions about where they stand on electoral issues. Users then fill out that same survey and are matched with the candidates whose answers most closely align to theirs on issues such as road safety, affordable housing and climate change.

Van der Linden, an assistant professor in the department of political science and the founder of Vox Pop Labs, told The Hamilton Spectator that the political compass tool is “particularly effective at the municipal level” given the fact politicians at the local level are not represented by political parties and where they stand on certain issues can be unclear to voters.

The tool serves as “a personalized, accessible entry point into understanding the position of candidates on a range of policy issues,” said van der Linden.

Vote Compass offers users a robust, scientific and objective evaluation of candidates without political spin, van der Linden told The Hamilton Spectator.

Vox Pop Labs has partnered with The Hamilton Spectator and The Toronto Star to provide the tool to voters for both the upcoming Hamilton and Toronto municipal elections.

For the municipal election in Hamilton, four out of the nine mayoral candidates and 30 out of 82 ward candidates responded to the Vote Compass survey.

Find out more about Vote Compass and take the survey here.