After receiving her first primary election ballot, Lucy Copass, a new resident in a Washington town, wondered, “How can I come up to speed on local issues quickly?” A friend suggested she try Vote411.

“I was happily surprised to find information on all the races — including the Fire District race that I had been wondering how on earth I would ever learn about in time,” she said in a press release from the League of Women Voters of Washington. “Vote411 has high-quality information that was just what I needed to cast an informed vote.”

The League of Women Voters’ site, www.VOTE411.org, is a nonpartisan election resource, providing tools to help Washington voters navigate the voting process for the Aug. 5 primary election.

“[The] League has invited all 830 candidates in 444 races in the 2014 Primary Election to participate in Vote411, and asked them to enter information helpful for voters as they make their decisions,” Vote411 Chairwoman Linnea Hirst said in the press release.

VOTE411.org provides detailed candidate information, including candidates’ direct responses to issue-related questions, for every candidate race and ballot issue in the state. Users can visit www.VOTE411.org and enter their address to find information from the candidates they will see on their ballot and compare candidates side by side.

“As voters, we need simple, helpful tools to help us navigate Election Day,” League President Kim Abel said. “Vote411 allows a candidate to share the information they think is important for you to know while answering questions pertinent to the position. You get the information you need to make choices all the way down to the end of your ballot.”

The League of Women Voters of Washington advocates for voting rights at the state level, and encourages civics education, voter education, and voter registration, including organizing around National Voter Registration Day in September.  It also supports local Leagues in voter registration and education activities, including candidate forums.

In the last election cycle, 32,000 Washingtonians found the information they needed through VOTE411.org, many of them young people and first-time voters, according to the League.