2008: The Libraries' Place for Politics
Make your vote count!
People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote -- a very different thing.
(Walter H. Judd, Rep. MN 1942-1962)
The last few elections have proven how important each individual’s vote can be in deciding who is elected. From the contested 2000 presidential results in Florida, to the 2004 Washington state gubernatorial election with 3 recounts and a(nother) court decision, to the 2nd Connecticut District House race in 2006, decided by just 91 votes, elections are being decided by astonishingly small margins. Your vote this election season could mean the difference between a candidate winning or losing. So, before you walk into the voting booth, it would be wise to learn more about the candidates.
In the age of the internet and 24-hour cable news, it should be easy to walk into the voting booth and make an informed choice this fall. But, with the internet providing instant access to online newspapers and cable news sites, with all the political punditry, the wikis, the blogs, and party websites, it can be hard to cut through the political noise and separate fact from opinion; to gather the information you need to vote for the candidates who best reflect your political beliefs and values.
Penn State University Libraries’ web site Vote 2008 (www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/findsubject/socialsciences/elections.html) can go a long way to helping you make those decisions. It is filled information on how register to vote and get absentee ballots; with high quality, non-partisan resources that discuss the elections; with links to party web sites, debate information, poll tracking resources, and some sites that are just for fun.
Start with the Project Vote Smart web site. Calling themselves the “Voter’s Self-Defense System” the web site covers all federal and state candidates running for office, as well as tracking everything from ballot issues to interest group ratings and the voting records. They also send a “Political Courage Test” to all candidates. The “test” is a good way to measure a candidate’s position on a wide range of issues. Unfortunately, none of the major presidential nominees have filled out the test, but many state level candidates have.
Track campaign activities in CQ Politics, a web site from a publisher with a longstanding reputation for producing high quality, nonpartisan analysis of politics and government. It is the perfect place for keeping up with the day-to-day events during the election season. With coverage of the race for president, congress, governor’s mansions, it’s a one stop shop for the news of the day. You can even listen to clips from the candidates presentations. And, as a publisher, Congressional Quarterly has a longstanding reputation for producing high quality, nonpartisan analysis of politics and government.
Once you’ve listened to the conflicting claims and charges from the candidates, how can you separate truth from political hyperbole? Two sites that can help sort fact from fiction are PolitiFact (from CQ) and FactCheck.org. Does Obama really want to increase the size of government by 23 percent? PolitiFact did the math and they say—no way. The AFL-CIO says McCain wants to cut health benefits for veterans, FactCheck says the truth is McCain has repeatedly voted for increases in benefits.
When you want to dig a bit deeper you could visit the party web sites (Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee) and look at the parties’ issues papers. Do their positions reflect your own? Then move on to campaign finances. How much money are the candidates raising, and who is contributing. Has the much touted McCain-Feingold law really made a difference in campaign spending? OpenSecrets.org tracks finances in federal elections closely and presents it in a readily understandable form. For state level elections, check out Follow the Money or CampaignMoney.com.
Tracking the “horse race” can be fun, especially as we get closer to Election Day. There are several sites that compile polls, but USA Election Polls is my personal favorite. It is very up to date and pulls from a wide range of polls. ElectoralVote.com is interesting because it tracks the all important electoral count. As we know from the 2000 election, popular vote doesn’t necessarily translate into winning an election. Gallup is another site to check out. They have a weekly video feature that explains some of the numbers that they are seeing.
Penn State's site also has links to the major mass media outlets, with everything from CNN Election Central to PBS: Vote 2008 to YouTube Politicians Channel with video direct from the campaigns that you can check out. It isn’t just U.S. media that is watching our elections. So, we have included a collection of foreign media outlets. Check out what Al-Jazeera (English language) is telling viewers in the Middle East about the US elections. Or, what the Chinese Xinhua News Agency is saying.
When you are tired of all the research you can take a break and look at the lighter side of the fall campaign, listed under “Just for Fun”. If you are a Comedy Central fan, check out Indecision 2008. The Onion’s War for the Whitehouse is another fun place. Or maybe, you want to try the National Journal Political Stock Exchange a free political trading game open to residents of the U.S.
You will find many more sites on Elections 2008. I hope you will find it helpful and fun and a way to pick the candidate that really reflects the direction you think the country should move. If you have comments suggestions, please let me know.
-Helen Sheehy, international documents librarian, the Social Sciences Library, Penn State University Libraries
For more information, visit Penn State's Social Sciences Library.