VOTE411.org - extensive resources for voters from the non-partisan League of Women Voters
Elections
C-SPAN Campaign 2008 - includes archive of C-SPAN coverage of presidential election events.
e-democracy.org - presidential election links from a nonprofit group aimed at improving democracy via technology.
OnTheIssues.org - provides quotations from candidates on specified topics (from a non-profit providing non-partisan information for voters).
Project Vote Smart - information on elected officials and candidates including biographical information, voting records, issue positions, interest group ratings, public statements and campaign finances.
Elections page, University of Wisconsin Data & Information Services Center
Extensive list of data sources for historical voter-turnout information, including links to limited precinct-level data.
Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP)
"The FVAP provides U.S. citizens worldwide a broad range of non-partisan
information and assistance to facilitate their participation in the
democratic process - regardless of where they work or live."
United States Election Assistance Commission - federal government voter information portal
Voting America: U.S. Politics 1840 to the Present - University of Richmond tool with impressive interactive maps feature; focuses on Presidential elections
Political Parties
Political Resources - Political
Parties (From Project Vote Smart)
Includes links to numerous political party web sites.
Campaign Finance
Campaign Finance Reform
(From the Brookings Institution)
"The special focus of this site is campaign finance law and administration.
It provides critical background information on current law and regulations,
tracks important legal developments in court cases and administrative decisions,
and reports on proposed new legislation and other reform proposals." The
site is searchable back to 1995.
The Center for Responsive Politics (Open
Secrets)
"The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group
based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections
and public policy. The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance
issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large."
CQ MoneyLine (UW only)
Comprehensive, up-to-date resource on federal campaign finance and lobbying.
"A place to discover who gave what to which Federal candidates
when..." Provides extensive campaign finance data in a very user friendly
way. Includes presidential and congressional data, contributor
information, contributions by zip code, soft money data, and more.
The Federal Election Commission - "The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency charged with administering and enforcing the federal campaign finance law. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, the Presidency and the Vice Presidency."
Follow the Money (From
The National Institute on Money in State Politics)
This resource includes breakdowns of contributions to winners and losers running in
state elections, down to the individual donation level. Data goes back several
election cycles, and the website also includes extensive analyses of the role
of money in state elections.
Political News Resources
CNN's Politics.com
Includes politically oriented articles from CNN, Time Magazine, and
Congressional Quarterly.
CQ Researcher (UW Only)
Articles from Congressional Quarterly Press. For election resources, use Browse by Topic, then follow links for U.S. Congress
LexisNexis Academic (UW Only)
Searchable database of political news (full-text articles) and transcripts of
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and NPR news broadcasts going back to the late 1980s. Includes Easy Search and Power Search possibilities.
The Hill
"The Hill reports and analyzes the actions of Congress as it struggles to
reconcile the needs of those it represents with the legitimate needs of
the administration, lobbyists and the news media."
Roll Call
"Roll Call offers news features, commentary, election previews and
special issues throughout the year, giving both print and Web
readers an opportunity to get an insider's view on Congress."
Political news articles can also be found via the News page.
... more resources
American National Election Studies
"The mission of the American National Election Studies (ANES) is to produce
high quality data on voting, public opinion, and political participation that
serve the research needs of social scientists, teachers, students, and policy
makers concerned with understanding the theoretical and empirical foundations
of mass politics in a democratic society."
The Electoral College (.PDF) (From the Federal Election Commission, a 20-page essay on Electoral College history)
