Voter Resources

Where does a citizen go to find pertinent information on candidates and issues at election time? All too often, the answer is nowhere. For many people soundbite or negative commercials and a little word of mouth from other dubiously informed people are the major determinants in their decision-making.

There are, however, some good resources for those who want to dig a little deeper. I like to find out how candidates stand on a number of issues, and if they have a record on actual bills. I really want to find out if they and their campaigns have a history of telling the truth. I also want to find out who is supporting them financially. The money trail is even more important on ballot propositions, many of which are put up by special interests in the guise of being for the general good. Here is a list of valuable sites. I want to thank Maria Gaston for much of this research.

Project Vote Smart does research on thousands of political candidates and officials. It has a great record for nonpartisanship. It asks the candidates to take its National Political Awareness Test each election on the issues they will probably be dealing with if elected. It is tops on the list. Go to www.vote-smart.org or click the link.

To find out whose money is backing what and whom at the state level, a great site is kept up by the National Institute on Money in State Politics. It's called followthemoney.org. You can find it at www.followthemoney.org


Do you want to find out who is giving you the straight scoop and who is shoveling the bull? An excellent site for this is FactCheck.org. They especially stay on top of major races and controversies around the country and spare no one from their impartial scrutiny. Click on the link or look into it at www.factcheck.org.

For the real policy wonk you can go to Thomas (as in Jefferson), the Library of Congress site dedicated to publishing all the records of Congress, including not only their votes but also their statements on bills being considered. You can access this at //thomas.loc.gov/home.

As the paper of record in the nation's capital, the Washington Post is unequalled in its day to day coverage of what is going on there. It also has links to voluminous resources such as voting and poll data bases. You may need to register with the paper online, but it's free and they do not send advertising to you. See what WaPo Politics has to offer at www.washingtonpost.com/politics.

You can find out what the parties are concentrating on at their own websites, too. The Republicans display their wares and a dim view of the Democrats at the Republican National Committee site, www.gop.org/. The Democratic National Committee has its own site at www.democrats.org/. The minor parties such as the Libertarians and Greens all have their own sites, too.

Happy hunting, and remember at election time, stay informed!

You Have Power

The election race is tight again. There are about 44-45% for McCain and 44-45% for Obama. That leaves 10-12% undecided. With millions of dollars and millions of voters in play, people typically feel they really can't have much of an impact as individuals. And while that is probably true, those individuals acting in the aggregate can have an enormous impact. Here's a plea for getting involved.

There are always a lot of people unregistered. According to the census bureau, in the last presidential election in 2004, 28% of the people weren't registered as you can see here. There are also always a lot of people who are registered but don't vote. Even in the most high-interest presidential elections that's usually more than 40%. In 2004 again, the same Census Bureau report finds that 63% of the voting age population actually did turn out. And that was the most since 1992.

So, what am I getting at? Well, in the past three weeks I've registered five people to vote. All I had to do was go to the county office, get some forms and have them available. You know, it turns out a lot of people, particularly younger ones, have never been asked to register. They just need someone to invite them to and make it convenient and friendly. I recommended they all register for vote by mail, too. This they all did. That makes it more likely they actually will vote. I've heard that Oregon, which is all VBM, gets turnouts of 86%.

So suppose you are a McCain or Obama fan. The 44% of the people who are for your guy is really only 44% of the likely voters, in other words, 44% of the 63%. Of the total population that works out to about 28% for each candidate and 8% likely to vote but undecided. That leaves a whopping 36% who aren't likely to vote. That's more people than are for either major party candidate! There are a lot of potential voters out there for your guy. In raw numbers that means there are currently 70 million people for McCain, 70 million for Obama, 20 million who will pretty surely vote who are still trying to make up their minds, and 90 million who probably aren't going to vote.

Now suppose just 1% of your candidate's supporters go out and do what I did. That would mean 700,000 people would go out and sign up five family, friends, co-workers, people at the coffee shop, or what have you. That would mean an extra THREE AND A HALF MILLION VOTES for your guy. A close election turns into a clear win with just that much minimum effort by 1% of his supporters.

And I'm not talking about going door to door or setting up a table outside a store and sitting there all day. I'm just talking about maybe wearing a button for your favorite. It's a conversation starter among people who like your guy. You get around to asking if they're registered, you have a few forms in you car, purse, briefcase, tool box or what have you, and bingo. You can even feel like you're getting really involved by taking down their phone number and calling them when the absentees are mailed out, saying, "Hi, remember me?" and reminding them to fill out the ballot and send it in.

I've signed up five in three weeks, and there are still eight weeks to go. What do you think you might be able to do? Want to feel like you're making a difference? Go ahead and give it a try. If you're like me you'll be glad you did.