Informed voting is crucial to maintain a properly functioning republic. It's easy to dismiss this important responsibility because we don't feel like our vote matters; however, not becoming informed and not voting communicates we don't care to others including our posterity. Maintaining freedom takes effort. Naturally there's a balance with how much time we spend on this important task relative to other important tasks. My process doesn't take very long and yet I believe it's pretty effective at selecting the best representatives.
Create a list of all the candidates and issues that will be on the upcoming ballot
Research each candidate according to those principles (e.g., how well do they demonstrate an understanding and belief in those principles), primarily using their own websites.
Add positive and negative points for each candidate and mark each point with one or more + and one or more -
Note the candidate to vote for based on the points listed