Will this year be another election that catches you blindsided in the voting booth with an assortment of names that you haven’t researched? Don’t you want to know more about a candidate than mere party affiliation before marking their box? You know that properly vetting candidates doesn’t mean putting your faith in the television campaign attack ads, and yet it’s not always easy to find good information on a candidate that doesn’t carry partisan flavors. With this in mind, the Law Librarian searched around and located some potentially helpful websites for voters:
- www.ontheissues.org – This site provide a wealth of easy-to-understand information in a matter-of-fact format on national-level candidates. Quotes from books, speeches and debates are offered to shed light on these issues for the voter. The Law Librarian found that this site examined the issues to a finer degree than any other.
- www.votesmart.org – Much more flashy (but perhaps not as “fleshy”) as www.ontheissues.org. Their “Political Galaxy” and “Political Courage Test” are both entertaining and informative. These interactive features, however, make it difficult to see and locate desired information at a glance.
- www.ballotpedia.org – To see what you can expect to see on your ballot, check out this site. Sponsored by The Lucy Burns Institute and www.ivoters.com, This site allows you to customize your ballot to the races in your geographical location. You can also use this site to read the details of particular candidates.
- http://judgepedia.org – Closely related to Ballotpedia.org, this site details all the incumbent state and federal judges for every district in every state. On this note, don’t forget the Minnesota Courts website and its judicial directory as a voters’ resource.
- MN Secretary of State – Have you recently moved and don’t know where you should go to vote? The Secretary of State’s MNVotes webpage can help you find your voting location via their Minnesota poll finder. You can also register to vote at this website or check about absentee voting.
- League of Women Voters – Long devoted to protecting and educating voters, this organization is also a great source for voter education. Check out their affiliate site, www.vote411.org and also their Voter’s Bill of Rights brochure.
Have you found another great resource for informing voters? Share it with us!
