This is a selection of highly useful resources on Unites States elections. Find here assistance with voter registration, finding your ballot, finding your polling place or station, learning about issues and candidates, and more!
TOP ELECTION RESOURCES
Elections – Brookings Institution https://www.brookings.edu/topic/campaigns-elections/ “The Brookings Institution is the nation’s oldest think tank. A private, independent, nonprofit research organization, Brookings seeks to improve the performance of American institutions, the effectiveness of government programs, and the quality of U.S. public policies. It addresses current and emerging policy challenges and offers practical recommendations for dealing with them, expressed in language that is accessible to policy makers and the general public alike.” This site has information about current affairs that are being researched. It has information about current research programs in Economics, Foreign Policy and Governmental. This also has selected articles from The Brookings Review and information about fellowships and Internships. CNN Politics http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/ The politics page from the popular cable news channel. Provides latest news and video related to U.S. politics and upcoming elections. C-SPAN http://www.c-span.org/ Videos on events and programs related to upcoming elections covered by C-SPAN, “a private, non-profit company, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a public service…to provide public access to the political proces.” Politics – FoxNews.com http://www.foxnews.com/politics/ The politics page from the popular cable news channel. Provides latest news and video related to U.S. politics and upcoming elections. NBC Politics on NBCNEWS.com https://www.nbcnews.com/politics The politics page from NBCNEWS.com. Provides latest news and video related to U.S. politics and upcoming elections as well as “First Read” (“news and analysis from the NBC News Political Unit”). New York Times – Politics http://www.nytimes.com/politics/ The Politics page of the New York Times newspaper provides nationwide coverage and information on upcoming elections. NPR: Politics https://www.npr.org/sections/politics/ This is the politics page for National Public Radio (NPR). Elections | Yahoo! https://www.yahoo.com/elections Yahoo! offers this page on upcoming elections.
TOP LOCAL AND STATE ELECTION RESOURCES
C-SPAN — ElectionGuide https://www.c-span.org/series/?campaign Scroll down this webpage from CSPAN to find a clickable map that will take you to links and information on your federal, state, and local candidates and issues, as well as general voter information. Enter your zip code for even faster results. Can I Vote? http://www.canivote.org/ Run by the National Association of Secretaries of State, Can I Vote contains state-by-state voting and voter registration information including polling places, and absentee voting. “Money in state politics plays a pivotal role in shaping public policy in individual states and across the nation. The nonpartisan Institute on Money in State Politics tracks contributions in all 50 states and makes this data easily searchable online.” The League of Women Voters – Smart Voter http://www.smartvoter.org/ Comprehensive, non-partisan election information provided by the League of Women Voters. Search tool allows user to locate their local polling place, ballot measures, candidate profiles and election results. Browse local and statewide upcoming elections and voter registration information. The League of Women Voters – VOTE411.org http://www.vote411.org Search state by state to locate links to city, county, and state government election information webpages. National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) http://www.nass.org/ NASS is a “non-partisan organization for public officials.” The site contains information about voting registration, new legislation, and state-by-state news. Vote Smart – Facts Matter https://justfacts.votesmart.org/ Choose your state and then click “Election Resources” to find state-specific voting information. Click “Local Election Offices” to get a listing of county-specific voting information. The Voter Network https://www.thevoternetwork.org/ “The Voternetwork is a non-partisan national platform that connects American citizens with key election information and alerts.” The site focuses on increasing political awareness among 18 to 24-year-olds.
TOP Official State Government Election Websites
TOP Don’t Forget Your Local Library!
Your local library will often have free voting information guides on local candidates and issues, as well as finding out where and how to vote. Many local libraries often have local news clippings on local candidates and issues or access to online archives of local newspapers. If you need help finding your local library, try… ipl’s Library Locator /div/liblocator/
TOP OFFICIAL POLITICAL PARTY SITES
- Democratic Party >> http://www.democrats.org
- Democratic Socialists of America >> http://www.dsausa.org
- Green Party >> http://www.gp.org
- Libertarian Party >> http://www.lp.org
- Reform Party >> http://www.reformparty.org
- Republican Party >> http://www.gop.com
- Tea Party >> http://www.teapartypatriots.org/
TOP CANDIDATES & ISSUES
Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania puts out this website to monitor the factual accuracy of statements made by and advertisements on behalf of major U.S. political figures. Opensecrets.org http://www.opensecrets.org/ Sponsored by The Center for Responsive Politics and dedicated to educating the public about campaign finances. Visitors can learn about campaign finance law, or look up contributors to political campaigns. MAPLight.org http://maplight.org/ “MAPLight.org, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, provides citizens and journalists the transparency tools to shine a light on the influence of money on politics.” Find out how much one or more legislators’ voting records on bills corresponds to how much money they received from campaign contributors who supported or opposed those bills. PolitiFact.com http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/ Reporters and researchers from the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly “analyze the candidates’ speeches, TV ads and interviews and determine whether the claims are accurate.” PollingReport.com http://www.pollingreport.com/ An excellent collection of major poll results. Lets visitors search for various issues and gives information on the public opinion polls taken regarding the issue. Project Vote Smart http://www.votesmart.org/ Information for voters on political leaders, their positions on issues, and campaign finance, and encourages active participation in democratic processes through voting.
TOP VOTER INFORMATION RESOURCES
Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) http://www.civicyouth.org/?page_id=132/ A nonpartisan research center promoting civic and political engagement of American youth between the ages of 15-25. Center for Voting and Democracy http://www.fairvote.org/ This site encourages “education, research, analysis, and organization” to get people to the polls. They advocate for inclusiveness and the democratic process and provide information on fair voting and representation. LULAC http://lulac.org/programs/civic/ This link is to the League of United Latin American Citizens. The LULAC Voter site has information on organizing for civic participation for the Hispanic community, voter registration and voting FAQs, and information on Latino demographics. Rock The Vote http://www.rockthevote.com/ Rock the Vote has combines efforts from those in the entertainment community with youth activities to encourage young people to be involved in the political process. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) https://www.eac.gov/ Website for this “independent, bipartisan commission created by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002… It issues guidance about HAVA, adopts voluntary voting system guidelines, audits the use of HAVA funds, and provides best practices and resources to election officials throughout the nation.” Find background material, information for election officials and voters, documents on voting system certification, reports, and related resources. Background documents also available in Spanish.
TOP BLOGS
The Corner on National Review Online https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ Put together by the staff at the National Review Online and covers the news media coverage from a slightly conservative angle. Daily Dish http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/ Andrew Sullivan, a Republican analyst for TIME Magazine, writes a blog covering current news and politics, from his point of view. Daily Kos http://www.dailykos.com/ Hugely popular and highly acclaimed left-leaning blog maintained by Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (though anybody can post “diaries” and comments here). Covers current news and politics.
TOP HISTORICAL INTEREST
U.S. Electoral College http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/ Understand the history and role of the U.S. Electoral College in electing the U.S. President. View historic “electoral votes, popular votes, electors, and certificates of past presidential elections” and find a great listing of “U.S. Election & Voting Resources.” Encyclopedia Britannica’s Guide to American Presidents https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States/Presidents-of-the-United-States Encyclopedia Britannica guide to profiles of American Presidents. Also includes historical images, videos and documents. The Living Room Candidate http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/ This site is operated by the American Museum of the Moving Image and provides an archive of Presidential television ad campaigns. POTUS (Presidents of the United States) from the Internet Public Library /div/potus/ IPL’s POTUS special resource page dedicated to information about the Presidents of the United States.