Editorial: Why does an endorsement matter?

People like to be reassured about their choices.

It doesn’t matter what those choices might be. We read reviews of movies or TV shows because we want someone to tell us we aren’t wasting our time. If a friend says this is a good book, maybe it’s worth investing a few hours reading it. Yelp and Google reviews help us decide what restaurants to try and what hotels to pick.

This makes sense. There are so many movies out there and so many TV shows on so many streaming services, so many books and pizza shops and fancy restaurants and other venues and services clamoring for our attention all the time. We can’t possibly research all of them on our own. It is helpful to have someone else do the research. This place has five stars? Let’s give it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen?

But when it comes to voting, that’s not something to outsource.

Endorsements are the political equivalent of reviews. They are the five-star rubber stamp of approval that a public figure or an organization gives to a candidate for office.

Is it worth knowing that Taylor Swift is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president or that Dennis Quaid is supporting Donald Trump? There are certainly people who find that interesting. But is it a tipping point for a decision or just a self-satisfying agreement on a choice already made?

What about people who aren’t celebrities? Does it make a difference if the public persona is another political figure you respect, whose positions align with your beliefs? That’s more concrete. It gives a better foundation for how the candidate could act. It’s like a reference on a resume or a letter of recommendation on a college application.

The same goes for things like a union or a nonprofit whose work you admire. An endorsement from those corners can signal whether this person will support the efforts that mean something to you.

What about a newspaper? Media organizations have long endorsed candidates. It’s common practice. Candidates who otherwise need to be chased for a comment can become eager if not outright solicitous of a sit-down with an editorial board in an election year.

But should it be?

We say no.

As an organization, it is not TribLive’s job to tell people how to spend their precious, constitutionally endowed votes. We have an important role in the process, but that’s not it.

Our job on the front page is to provide information. On the editorial page, we provide analysis. After that, we advocate for the people to take these facts and this context and do two things.

Read it. Really read it. Come to things as a clean slate, prepared to take the information without prejudice or preconception. Consider it thoughtfully as you make your decisions.

Then act upon it.

We do not fault other newspapers that have an opinion. On the editorial page, opinions are the soul of what we all do — providing a microphone for myriad voices and thoughts. But TribLive has not endorsed in years and continues to hold that position.

We will continue to report on who supports whom and why. We will cover the stops in the area and the speeches and rallies for president, Senate and other races. Please read that coverage, and use it to ask questions and find answers.

But if you are looking for someone to tell you who should get your vote, we can’t make it that easy. Voting isn’t ordering a pizza or picking a movie. You need more than a five-star review for something this important.