Ahead of Tuesday's election, a self-published voter guide has been circulating among Eastside voters, grading candidates in 16 competitive races across districts with significant AAPI populations on issues specific to that community.

The project, called Lantern Vote, was built by a Bellevue high school student and grades candidates on five issues: immigration and visas, zoning and neighborhoods, education, language access, and hate-crime justice. Ratings are based on each candidate's voting record and publicly stated positions rather than endorsements or donations.

Two races directly touch the Eastside: Washington's 8th Congressional District and the 30th Legislative District's Senate seat. The guide breaks down each candidate's record issue by issue rather than handing out a single up-or-down score, making it possible to compare the categories one by one.

Eastside voters have responded warmly to the guide, and several said they had not seen one aimed this directly at AAPI voting priorities before. With ballots due by Tuesday, it adds another data point for anyone still deciding on the down-ballot races.