Ask an IPL Librarian
Have a question? Ask an IPL Librarian!
(Use our Contact Us form for questions/suggestions about our site.)
The Ask an IPL Librarian Reference Service will close between academic terms beginning December 20, 2007 at 10 p.m. (EST). We will reopen the service on Monday, January 5, 2008 at Noon (EST). We use this time to work behind the scenes to improve this service. Happy Holidays from all of us at the IPL!

ELECTION AND VOTING RESOURCES

 

TOP PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2008 RESOURCES

AP/Yahoo! Primary Tracker
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/interactives/campaign_plus/delegate_tracker/index.html

The Associated Press (AP) offers this cool and informative interactive feature on Yahoo! News Elections page to make tracking the U.S. presidential candidates' progress in the primaries super easy.

CNNPolitics.com - Path to the Presidency: Election Center
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/path.presidency/

CNN's special section on the 2008 Presidential Election. Provides in-depth information about Primaries and Caucuses. Has an interactive tool to search by political party, candidate and state. Most debates are available via video. Campaign Issues and candidate profiles round off this great presidential election resource.

C-SPAN: American Politics/Road to the White House 2008
http://www3.capwiz.com/c-span/primary/presidential_primaries.tt

Find video news clips and live video taken of candidates on the campaign trail on this webpage for "two intermittently alternating weekly C-SPAN shows that look at the electoral process in the United States and the candidates, issues & events shaping the 2008 presidential race."

C-SPAN 2008 Presidential Election Primaries and Caucuses.
http://www3.capwiz.com/c-span/primary/presidential_primaries.tt

C-Span's resource on the 2008 Presidential Election Primaries and Caucuses offers a calendar of primaries, caucuses for each party and results. This site offers extensive information about politics on Capital Hill, the White House and at a National level.

The New York Times Election Guide 2008
http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008

Comprehensive presidential election information with some incredible interactive features on campaign finances, events, and issues.

NPR: Election 2008
http://www.npr.org/templates/topics/topic.php?topicId=1102#/primaries/

From the National Public Radio, this interactive map to track Presidential Primary and Caucuses results.

TOP 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WEBSITES

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

Hillary Clinton official campaign website
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/

New York Senator Hillary Clinton's official campaign website.

Mike Gravel official campaign website
http://www.gravel2008.us/

Former Virgina Senator Mike Gravel's official campaign website.

Barack Obama official campaign website
http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

Illinois Senator Barack Obama's official campaign website.


REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

Mike Huckabee official campaign website
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/

Former Arkansas Govenor Mike Huckabee's official campaign website.

Alan Keyes official campaign website
http://www.alankeyes.com/

Former U.S. Ambassador and former assistant to the Secretary of State Alan Keyes official campaign website.

John McCain official campaign website
http://www.exploremccain.com/

Arizona Senator John McCain's official campaign website.

Ron Paul official campaign website
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Galveston, Texas Representative, Ron Paul's official campaign website.


INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES

Ralph Nader official campaign website
http://www.votenader.org/index.html

Ralph Nader's official campaign website.


OFFICIAL POLITICAL PARTY SITES

TOP LOCAL AND STATE ELECTION RESOURCES

C-SPAN -- Election 2008
http://www3.capwiz.com/c-span/e4/

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.

Follow the Money: The Institute on Money in State Politicis
http://www.followthemoney.org/

"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 registeration 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.

Project Vote Smart - My State Link
http://www.votesmart.org/mystate_government_resources.php

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.

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…

LibWeb
http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/

TOP CANDIDATES & ISSUES

AP/Yahoo! Candidate Tracker
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/interactives/campaign_plus/candidate_tracker/index.html

The Associated Press (AP) and Yahoo! News's Elections page offer this cool and informative interactive feature on the U.S. presidential candidates.

AP/Yahoo! Candidate Fundraising
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/interactives/campaign_plus/2008money/index.html

Analyze U.S. presidential candidates' fundraising sources with this interactive feature from the Associated Press (AP), hosted on Yahoo! News Elections page.

Congress.org (This is not the homepage of the U.S. Congress.)
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

This is NOT the homepage of the U.S. congress, but it is a great guide to the United States Congress with information on issues and representatives.

FactCheck.org
http://factcheck.org

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. polictical 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.

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.

Declare Yourself
http://www.declareyourself.com/?page_id=132/

Provides voter registeration information searchable by state. Answers common voting questions such as voting in primaries when you are registered as an Independent, how to register, who is eligible and more! Political news, public opinion polls, primary results & ways to set up a campus voter registration drive.

LULAC
http:lulcalc.org/programs/voter.html

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.

TOP BLOGS

The Corner on National Review Online
http://corner.nationalreview.com

Put together by the staff at the National Review Online and covers the news media coverage from a slightly conservative angle.

Daily Dish
http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/

Andrew Sullivan, a Republican analyst for TIME Magazine, writes a blog covering current news and politics, from his point of view.

Daily Kos
http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/

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.

WatchBlog
http://www.watchblog.com

A political and news blog featuring commentary from the Left, Right, and Independent.

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
http://www.britannica.com/presidentsWebapp/home.do

Encyclopedia Britannica guide to profiles of American Presidents. Also includes historical images, videos and documents.

The Living Room Candidate
http://livingroomcandidate.movingimage.us/index.php

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
http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/

IPL's POTUS special resource page dedicated to information about the Presidents of the United States.

What is the IPL?

The Internet Public Library is a public library for the world wide web.
Students from a consortium of colleges and universities with programs in information science develop and maintain the IPL!
Here are some of the partners in the IPL Consortium. A complete list is found on the IPL Consortium page.

The iSchool at Drexel Florida State University College of Information University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science Rutgers School of Communication and Information Studies

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences Syracuse University School of Information The Information School - University Of Washington

The Internet Public Library is hosted by The iSchool at Drexel, College of Information Science and Technology,
with major support from the College of Information at Florida State University.

Sponsored by Intel and Sun Microsystems
Copyright Notice
© 1995-2008 The Regents of the University of Michigan. All rights reserved.
© 2008, Drexel University, All Rights Reserved