C&RL News Internet Resources column.
Election 2008 resources: Political information online, networked, and in the social world
C&RL News, January 2008
Vol. 69, No. 1
by Lorena O'English
While ten years ago most people got their political information from candidates
or traditional media sources, such as television and newspapers, over the last
decade Americans have increasingly been turning to the Internet as a major
source for information. In just the last few years, options have gone beyond
online providers that are linked to print media to new resources that have been
born digital, especially with the rapid growth of Weblogs
and the interactivity and user-generated content now available through social
networking and Web 2.0 services, such as YouTube and MySpace.
This article highlights a number of sites that may be of use to librarians and
library users who are looking to get information not just about candidates but
also about the political process in our increasingly online, networked, and
social world. Most of these resources include RSS feeds for some if not all of
their content, and many include public forums or blog
comments from members of the general public. The notion of a commenting culture
is alive and well in the realm of online political information.
Background and general election information
• Campaigns & Elections. Campaigns & Elections is a
trade magazine for political professionals that is
published ten times each year. Each issue includes feature articles, profiles,
and news about the profession. The site includes some free resources, including
a political blog directory. Access: http://www.campaignsandelections.com.
• The
• Federal Election Commission. This site provides information about legal
and regulatory rules relating to federal campaign finance issues. Its
searchable Disclosure Database is the original source of all the campaign
finance data provided by other groups. Access: http://www.fec.gov/index.shtml.
• The University of
•
• Vote411. This site is sponsored by the League of Women Voters
Education Fund, and provides information at the state level for absentee
voting, election dates, voter registration, voting machines, eligibility
requirements, and more. Access: http://vote411.org.
Political news
• Campaign U. This freely accessible blog,
published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, provides links to articles
focusing on the 2008 elections as they affect students, colleges and
universities, and higher education policy. The site also provides summaries of
relevant scholarly publications. Access: http://chronicle.com/blogs/election/.
• CQPolitics. A free news site
provided by Congressional Quarterly (CQ) with political news, political blogs (such as Taegan Goddard’s
Political Wire) and articles. The site includes a political toolkit with
links to other Web sites that have a connection to CQ, as well as links to
non-CQ “Web Picks.” Visitors can also sign up for free newsletters. Access: http://www.cqpolitics.com.
• Indecision 2008. Research has shown that many people, especially
younger voters, get much of their political news from television comedy and
talk shows, such as the “Daily Show.” Comedy Central’s Indecision 2008 Web site
provides video clips, interviews, a political news blog,
and other campaign coverage and resources. Access: http://www.indecision2008.com.
• Politico and Campus Politico. This extensive political news site from
Capital News Company covers the presidential campaign and other political
events and issues. The site includes video clips and an open forum for
commentary. Campus Politico focuses on college-age voters, and includes links
to social networking sites and downloadable widgets that provide updated blog postings from Politico writers. Access: http://www.politico.com/campuspolitico/.
• PoliticsWest. The 2008 Democratic
National Convention will be held in
Fact checking
• FactCheck. From the
• Politifact. A project of the St. Petersburg
Times and CQ (Congressional Quarterly), this site uses scorecards, factsheets, and articles to review claims made by
candidates (the Truth-O-
Candidate information
• Map the Candidates. The online magazine Slate uses a Google Maps mashup to trace the geography of the 2008 presidential
campaign, tracking candidate travel and linking to videos and local coverage of
campaign stops. Access: http://www.slate.com/id/2175817/.
• Project Vote Smart. One of the first
political information sites on the Web, Project Vote Smart provides an
extensive amount of information about elected officials, including voting
records (congressional and legislative), special interest group performance
evaluations, campaign finance data, and issue positions from the Political
Courage Test (formerly known as the National Political Awareness Test). The
site also provides general political information, including voter registration
information, information on statewide ballot measures, and links to other
resources. Access: http://www.vote-smart.org.
Technology and user-generated content
• TechPresident. This group blog, a project of the Personal Democracy Forum, focuses on
how the Web is being used by presidential campaigns, and how the read-write,
interactive nature of the Web allows the public to create content that becomes
part of the campaign conversation. Partnering with the New York Times and
MSNBC, the site sponsors 10Questions (www.10questions.com), where readers can
propose questions to be asked of presidential candidates. The top ten
vote-getters are submitted to the candidates, and participating campaigns then
provide a video response. The site also tracks candidate support on social
networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. Access: http://techpresident.com/.
• “The 51st State: The State of Online.” This
article by Laura Gordon-Murnane appeared in the
November/December issue of Searcher and has been made publically
available. The article provides a listing of the technological and social
features that are available on presidential campaign Web sites as of late
summer 2007, and analyses how candidates, media, and voters are using these
tools. Access: http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/nov07/Gordon-Murnane_51stState.pdf.
• Wiki the Vote. Wiki
the Vote is an open, publicly edited encyclopedia of the 2008 elections.
Registration is required for editing, and there are specific policies for
editing that are overseen by a managing editor. The site includes candidate
profiles, links to political Weblogs, and general
election coverage. Wiki the Vote is a project of Congresspedia, which is sponsored by the Sunlight
Foundation and the Center for
• YouTube: You Choose ’08. In a
departure from the traditional, formally televised presidential debates of the
past, candidates are now responding to questions raised by citizens through
videos posted on YouTube. This site includes videos
of questions, candidate responses, and user-generated responses to the same
questions asked of the candidates. The site also links to videos produced by
individual campaigns. Access: http://youtube.com/youchoose.
Survey research and political polling
•
American National Election Studies (ANES). ANES has been collecting data
about
•
• Pollster. Political polling permeates the political season, yet rarely
is provided with any context beyond the basic horserace results. Pollster
tracks, aggregates, and analyses political polls (including presidential,
congressional, and gubernatorial races). The site provides links to other
polling and survey research groups and resources, and has a very helpful FAQ
page that explains how political polling is done. Access: http://www.pollster.com.
Money in politics
• CampaignMoney. This
site allows visitors to find campaign finance data, including searching for
contributions by zip code, individual name or address, and political action
committees, as well as post opinions about candidates. Special reports include
contributions made by celebrities, industries, companies, and more. Access:
http://www.campaignmoney.com/.
• Follow the Money. A number of organizations provide data about
federal-level campaign finance contributions, but the National Institute on
Money in State Politics provides information on the state level by contributor
and industry. The site also includes data on ballot measures and political
parties, along with news releases and research reports focusing on campaign
contributions and public policy. Access: http://www.followthemoney.org/index.phtm.
• Open Secrets. The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) supplies
campaign finance information to other political information services, but its
own Web site, Open Secrets, covers more territory. In addition to data about
campaign contribution donors and recipients, lobbying, and advocacy group
spending, the site includes databases covering financial disclosure, the
revolving door between industry and government agencies, and congressional
travel. CRP’s online newsletter “Capital Eye” provides articles about the role
of money in politics. Access: http://opensecrets.org.
Lorena O’English is social sciences reference and
instruction librarian at
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2008 Lorena O’English