Voter Information

Voters' resources for federal, state and local elections.

Fact Checkers

Websites for political fact checking

Fact Checker ()
From the Washington Post. Includes their pinocchio test rating scale to indicate the extent of the falsehood.
FactCheck ()
From the Annanheim Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania. Includes "hot topics."
PolitiFact ()
Service of the St. Petersburg Times. Includes a "flip0meter" for changes in positions from the candidates.

Legislation

Tracking bills and rules. Includes Read All about It Oregon Blog.

Oregon's Government Documents Respository (http://oregon.gov/OSL/GRES/REPOS/index.shtml)
The Repository collects, preserves, and provides access to online publications of Oregon state government
Read All about It Oregon (http://library.state.or.us/blogs/ReadAllAboutItOregon/wordpress/)
A blog that highlights newsworthy Oregon government documents. The documents are as varied as state agency missions are, ranging from public health, voting, and natural resources to recreational opportunities.
Congress.org (Capital Advantage) (http://www.congress.org/congressorg/e4/?)
Information about candidates for federal, state, and local offices (provided by the candidates), and information about any bills sponsored and Congressional voting records. Includes contact information for current federal, state, and local officials.
Government 101 (http://www.vote-smart.org/resource_govt101_02.php)
Voter friendly descriptions of how a bill becomes law, the president, the budget, Congress, elections, historical documents, states rights and a glossary of legislative terms.
GovTrack (Federal legislation) (http://www.govtrack.us/)
GovTrack.us brings together information about the United States Congress, tracking the status of federal legislation and the activities of your senators and representatives. This is an independent website.
Open Congress (Federal legislation) (http://www.opencongress.org)
Brings together current legislation news, blog and news coverage. Site is a project of the Sunlight Foundation.
Oregon State Legislature (http://www.leg.state.or.us/index.html)
Covers bills & laws and the process of an idea becoming law, senators and representatives and the committee assignments, and has links to live coverage in the Oregon House of Representatives and Senate.
Thomas (Legislative Information - Federal Level) (http://thomas.loc.gov/)
Provides the means to track legislation and the voting of senators, representatives and committee activity in US Congress. Has information on how Congress makes laws. Includes directories for Congress and legislative agencies.
Washington State Legislature (http://www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature)
Locate your legislator, find information on legislative bills and state agencies, gives ways citizens may participate, covers current laws and rules.

National Parties

Resources covering the U.S. political parties.

*Democratic National Committee (http://www.democrats.org/)
Includes the party's top issues, links to state sites, a call to volunteers, and top news stories.
*Republican National Committee (http://www.rnc.org/)
Includes the party’s agenda, links to state sites, party leadership, top news stories, and the origin of the elephant.
Green Party (http://www.gp.org/)
Includes the platform, events calendar, list of election results by state, and links to state Green Party sites.
Libertarian Party (http://www.lp.org/)
Covers issues and positions, campaign platform, history of the party, and links to state voter registration sites.
The Guide to United States Political Parties (http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm)
Lists over 50 U.S. political parties including summaries of their histories and links to their current Web sites.

Oregon Blue Book

links to state directories, agencies and special expositions.

Oregon Blue Book Homepage (http://www.sos.state.or.us/bbook/)
The official state directory and fact book about all levels of government in Oregon...
Oregon State Judiciary (http://www.sos.state.or.us/bbook/state/judicial/judicial.htm)
Describes Oregon's judiciary and introduces its members.
State of Oregon agencies, boards, and commissions (http://www.sos.state.or.us/bbook/state/executive/executive3.htm)
Contacts, histories, records listings, and more.

Public Policy

Information on how the government works.

Federal Election Commission (http://www.fec.gov/index.shtml)
Disclosure database for tracking campaign contributions
This Nation (http://www.thisnation.com/public.html)
Includes major documents, inaugural addresses, major court decisions and information on the processes of the US government.

State of Oregon

State and local resources for voters.

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Information on registration deadlines, election dates, eligibility requirements, candidate information and ballot measures, campaign finance and registration sites and more...(Oregon)
*Oregon Secretary of State Election Division (http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/elechp.htm)
Covers initiatives, voting information, frequently asked questions, lists federal, state and county officials, district maps, election events, and a link to Oregon Statutes and Administrative Rules.
*Oregon Votes (http://www.oregonvotes.org/)
Covers voter registration, campaign finance, links to political party sites in Oregon, candidate lists, districts, voter registration maps, election history, and military voter information.
Constitution Party in Oregon (http://www.constitutionpartyoregon.net/)
Democratic Party in Oregon (http://www.dpo.org/)
Libertarian Party in Oregon (http://www.lporegon.org/)
Pacific Green Party in Oregon (http://www.pacificgreens.org/)
Republican Party in Oregon (http://www.orgop.org/)
The League of Women Voters in Oregon (http://www.lwvor.org/)
Includes Voter’s Guides for Oregon and information about state and local candidates.
The Oregon Political Parties Contact information (http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/other.info/can.htm)
Contact information for the officers of political parties in Oregon.
Vote411.org (League of Women Voters) (http://vote411.org/bystateresult.php?state=OR)
Information on registration deadlines, election dates, eligibility requirements, candidate information and ballot measures, campaign finance and registration sites and more...(Oregon)

State of Washington

State and local resources for voters.

*Washington Secretary of State Elections & Voting (http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/)
Covers voter registration, election laws, information about the candidates, and an election calendar.
HAVA Act Information (Washington) (http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/reform_federal.aspx)
League of Women Voters in Washington (http://www.lwvwa.org/)
Includes a voter’s toolkit for Washington and information about state and local candidates.
Vote411.com (League of Women Voters) (http://vote411.org/bystateresult.php?state=WA)
Information on registration deadlines, election dates, eligibility requirements, candidate information and ballot measures, campaign finance and registration sites and more...(Washington State)
The Democratic Party (Washington) (http://www.wa-democrats.org/)
The Green Party (Washington) (http://www.wagreens.us/home/)
The Libertarian Party (Washington) (http://www.lpwa.org/voter/)
The Republican Party (Washington) (http://www.wsrp.org/)

TV, Newspapers & Blogs

Media coverage of the campaigns, conventions, and elections.

ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote.html)
Campaign U (Blog from Chronicle of Higher Education ) (http://chronicle.com/section/Campaign-U/28/)
Includes links to presidential candidates and their stands on issues. Emphasis is on issues that affect higher education
CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/politics/main250.shtml)
Declare Yourself (http://www.declareyourself.com/)
Current news on primaries, news blurbs, information on how to register in each state
FOX News (http://elections.foxnews.com/)
MSNBC News (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032553/)
PBS News (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/politics/index.html)
Teacher’s Guide for elections 2008 (http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/election2008/)
Kids reports on the issues, the candidates, as they follow the campaign trail.
The Oregonian (through LexisNexis Academic) (For CU faculty, staff, and students only. Must log in through CU Intranet. )
When accessing this site from off campus, you must be logged in to the CU Intranet.
The Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/)
The Washington Times (Washington D.C.) (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/election/)

Voting

General information on voting.

FAQs on Voting (Declareyourself.com) (http://www.declareyourself.com/voting_faq/voting_faq.html)
Answers questions on eligibility, how to register, voting day calendars, explanations of the voting process (e.g. caucas, primary, etc.), and finding your polling place.
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (Complete document) (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/hava/pl252_107.pdf)
HAVA specifies voting standards and minimum voting requirements for the States.
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (Summary) (http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/violations/hava_req.html)
A brief description of HAVA.
The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections (http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/36762.pdf)
A report of the Congressional Resource Service from the Library of Congress (September 2004). Covers the history of the college, the processes used to select the electors and the means used for casting ballots.