Elections and Voting: A guide to selected sources

2008 Election / Campaign Finance / Iowa Voters Issues & Voting Information / Political Parties / Research Sources     "The most important office in a democracy is the office of citizen." Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1916-1939) referring to the responsibility of voters.

2008 Election

C-SPAN - Click on 'American Politics/Road to the White House' in left window.

CNN.com - Election Center 2008 provides information on the candidate's views, finances, and more.

CNN/Politics - Political news, opinions and analysis.

CQ Politics.com -2008 election timeline, candidate list, and archive of presidential candidate news stories.

Factcheck.org - Annenberg Political Fact Check for the accuracy in political speech and clarification of issues.

Project Vote Smart - provides a complete list of candidates and elected officials including biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and interest group ratings.

Campaign Finance Information

Center for Responsive Politics - Online source for money in politics and the 2008 presidential election.

U.S. Federal Election Commission - is charged to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections.

Iowa Voter Information

Des Moines Register - seven day index of news articles including presidential candidate and campaign issues. For more indepth newspaper coverage, use Access World News .

Iowa Secretary of State - Look for "Voting Links" on right margin, including 2008 Caucus information.

Johnson County, Iowa Auditor's Office - Register to vote, find your polling place, the election calendar, plus lots more.  Includes links to School elections, Iowa City elections and Caucus information.

Issues and Voter Information

Center for Public Integrity - produces investigative studies on topics related to government accountability and ethics.

Center for Voting and Democracy - Studies how voting systems affect participation, representation and governance.

Common Cause - Nonpartisan citizens lobbying group focusing on government accountability and reform issues.

USA.gov/ Voting and Elections - an online guide to the election process.

Vote411.org - voter information from the League of Women Voters.

Political Parties

complete list of parties from Project Vote Smart Communist Party USA Constitution Party Democratic Party Green Party Independent American Party Libertarian Party Prohibition Party Reform Party Republican Party Socialist Party

Selected Research Sources

America Votes: election returns by state. Provides district maps, voter turn for primary and general elections from post-WWII through last presidential election.  Washington : Elections Research Center, Congressional Quarterly, 1956 - 2006. (Main Reference JK1967 .A8 v.1-26).

CQ Voting and Elections - searchable database providing analyses, explanations, and historical resources about voting and U.S. elections.

Election Statistics - The Office of the Clerk, House of Representatives provides official vote counts of federal elections from 1920 to 2006.

Encyclopedia of Presidential Campaigns, Slogans, Issues, and Platforms, by Robert North Roberts, Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2004.  (Main Reference E176.1 .R6 2004).

Encyclopedia of Third Parties in America.  Immanuel Ness, ed., Armonk, NY : Sharpe Reference, 2000.  (Main Reference JK2261 .E474 2000).

Encyclopedia of the Republican Party; Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party. Armonk, NY : Sharpe Reference, 1997.   4 volumes  (Main Reference JK2352 .E6 1997).

Federal Campaign Finance Laws - provides access to laws and other documents relevant to federal campaign finance legislation, including ballot access.

LexisNexis Congressional - provides historical and current indexing to congressional publications including hearings and reports on a wide range of topics including elections, ballot access, electoral colleges, etc.  A comprehensive digital collection of CRS Reports from 1916 to the present searchable by title, author, keyword, date/congress.  For best search results, choose "advanced search" and limit a search to CRS Reports.

Presidential Also-Rans and Running Mates, 1788 through 1996. Jefferson, NC : McFarland & Co., c1998.  (Main Reference 176.1 .S695 1998).

Statistical History of the American Electorate, by Jerrold G. Rusk. Washington, DC : CQ Press, 2001.  (Main Reference JK 1967 .R87 2001).

Voting and Registration , "Information on reported voting and registration by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics is collected for the nation in November of congressional and presidential election years in the Current Population Survey (CPS".

World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties. 4th ed. New York : Facts On File, 2006.  (Main Reference JF2011 .W67 2006).

Revised, M. Mason
December 2007