The entire road to the presidential election has been filled with personal jabs, false accusations, and misinformation have left voters with mixed emotions on who to vote for come Nov. 6. The weeks leading up to Election Day can be very confusing, as campaign ads are constantly swirling around the media, and every other social media post is telling you to vote. In the midst of all of this, it can be very difficult to figure out which candidate to vote for on the federal, state, and local levels (because yes, state and local government elections will be on the ballot too). That’s why it’s important to have resources handy that will provide you with reliable, unbiased information.
Reliable information about the candidates and issues that will be on your ballot, as well as how to prepare for voting, are super important, because this is what allows for a voter to come up with their own decisions and feel confident when it’s time to head to the polls. For young and first-time voters, the whole process of registering and understanding who or what will be on the ballot can be a bit overwhelming. What resources are available to help voters out? There are nonpartisan organizations and websites that are geared toward helping people stay informed on candidates and voting information.
Here are the five of the best websites for reliable, unbiased voter information:
Vote Smart
Vote Smart, formally known as Project Vote Smart, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization that gathers and publishes information on candidates running for public offices in the United States. Its project “Just the Facts” allows for users to search any electoral local or federal candidate and view their background (education, career, political experience, and any organizations they’re a part of), positions on public issues, who is endorsing them, their speeches, what they’ve voted for in the past when in a government position, and their ratings from other organizations. Vote Smart collects data on governmental candidates through its Political Courage Test, a survey sent out to candidates to test their willingness to answer voters’ questions, or compiled from its own research in public records. This is a great website to do some initial research on candidates and what they stand for.
Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia is an online encyclopedia of American politics that contains unbiased information on elections, politics, and policy. Though it publishes informative articles on the government and the elections, its greatest tool is the Sample Ballot Lookup Tool. It provides any voter with a preview of what their ballot will look like. Simply enter your home address and email to find yours. A sample ballot can act as a voter guide to help plan out your official ballot, and you can even bring it with you to the polls! There are many other resources like Ballotpedia that generate sample ballots, too.
Vote.gov
Voting registration is one of the most important steps in the voting process, next to actually submitting your ballot — without it, you wouldn’t be able to vote in the first place! However, it can be confusing to figure out whether or not you’re already registered, how to register, or make any changes to your voting information, like your address. Whether you’re a college student and wanting to vote in your college town or a new U.S. citizen, this website will help you register to vote! It’s neatly categorized to help you figure out what your next steps are in the voting process.
League of Women Voters’ Vote 411
Since 1920, the League of Women Voters has been working to register voters, provide information to voters, and advocate for voting rights. Similar to Vote Smart’s “Just the Facts,” their program “Vote 411” helps voters learn more about their local electoral candidates by sending policy and issue questions out to candidates to answer. All of their answers can be found underneath the candidate descriptions on the Vote 411 website. A special feature of Vote 411 is that you can view and compare two different candidates’ answers to draw your own conclusions.
Factcheck.org
This media organization aims to be a source for nonpartisan and unbiased news related to current events and politics. Its articles surrounding the election mainly consist of fact-checking the candidates in any press release, debate, or speech in order for voters to have accurate information. Two of its sections, “FactCheck Posts” and “Don’t get spun by internet rumors” are great sources for voters to fact-check any current event news to make sure you aren’t getting fed false information.