Comments on: Voter Education

Question: Voter Education

Pantalaimon — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:40:58 -0800

Teach me to be a better informed voter for the next Presidential election

I'd like to educate myself about the presidential candidates. Wading through their respective campaign material would be one obvious option, but I am afraid I will waste a lot of time on reading their self-promotion and propaganda.

So I'm looking for a comprehensive website to educate myself about the current presidential candidates: what they say they stand for on wide-ranging issues (social, political, domestic, international), what they said in the past they stand for, what they voted for in Congress, etc. Ideally, it should be fairly objective, but I don't even know if that's possible. I'll settle for something that clearly separates facts from analysis. Is there such a site?

By: box

box — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:55:13 -0800

There are plenty of 'em. Project Vote Smart is one.

By: ism

ism — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:01:03 -0800

if this is not too obvious, wikipedia has extensive, well cited pages on all the candidates' platforms, political stances and history. here's an example, but use this as your jumping-off point.

By: goml

goml — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:06:39 -0800

I liked this PICK YOUR CANDIDATE quiz.

By: goml

goml — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:09:21 -0800

There is also 2DECIDE.com

By: Ky

Ky — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:11:09 -0800

Also check your local newspapers (the bigger ones that cover the state), as most will have their own "convenience" sections for political candidates. Of course, those may be published closer to the actual poll dates, though, from what I remember. Other online newspaper sources like the NYT have their own dedicated sections as well.

It's usually best not to stick with just one site source when it comes to political views, of course. And above all, you should have an idea where you stand on major issues before you start wading in. In fact, if there is a particular issue that's critical to you, it may be useful to start looking at candidates from that perspective first.

By: Ragma

Ragma — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:16:58 -0800

I would suggest actually going to their websites and reading what they have to say. I've done that, and I found it extremely useful. Obviously you need to follow up with more research. But their websites will give you a good sniff test.

By: MLIS

MLIS — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:18:57 -0800

Elections 2008.

By: lackutrol

lackutrol — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:22:24 -0800

I think Ky's second suggestion is a good start. If you know where you stand, it will be relatively easy to rank the candidates on how well their views, proposals, and past history match your views. Also you can watch who is endorsed by organizations that advocate for whatever might be your particular issues. This is a lot easier on "social" issues and harder on things like economic and trade policy.

Knowing my own views fairly well it's quite easy to throw out the entire Republican field and then rank the plausible Democrats in order of preference. I quickly get down to two who I would be fairly happy with and a slight preference for one over another. Of course, who knows if either will still be on the ballot when my primary comes around, but I am clear who I will vote for in both the primary and the general.

Also newspapers often do a comparison thing right before your primary, and American papers at least think they are trying to be objective. The New York Times is doing a bunch of long articles on each candidate which are sometimes informative even while being infected by the political press's infuriatingly trivial and superficial approach.

By: ericb

ericb — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:58:06 -0800

Two previous AskMe threads asking similar questions with valuable responses:

Focus on the Issues.

Doing My Homework.

By: Substrata

Substrata — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:22:59 -0800

don't watch TV.

By: JaredSeth

JaredSeth — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 08:39:54 -0800

And above all, you should have an idea where you stand on major issues before you start wading in.

You should probably also have an idea where the various sources you're looking at stand on the major issues too, as that's going to color how they present the candidates stances on the issues.