I know, I know.. even thinking about trying to understand politics when you are trying to study for midterms hurts. I feel the same, but voting, if you haven’t heard, is a very important thing to do. Everyone should get their say in how the country is run.
On the other hand, who has time to research what is on the ballot or who is running? These websites will help you learn about your local voting options, so you can be informed as you vote.
1. BallotReady: www.ballotready.org
All you have to do is input your address or city of residence, so that that the site can access the correct ballot for you. Then peruse to your heart’s desire on all the issues that will be on your ballot on one website. For example, I could view the U.S. Senate CA tab within the federal candidates. Then I would see the candidate’s experience, views on issues, and groups who endorse each candidate.
BallotReady allows you to save your choices and also print them to take to the ballot with you. In addition, you can share your saved choices with your friends, so that they can make informed choices as well.
The information is nonpartisan: all facts are verified and linked back to their source material.
2. Fact check: https://www.factcheck.org/
Another great tool is factcheck.org. It is also a nonpartisan organization intended to help the public understand what is happening in politics. You can check information you hear about candidates, current political leaders, ads, or interval here.
3. Your Political Party Website
Another tool to help you decide what to votes for is to visit your party website. The information is most certainly biased, but you will learn what people with similar views to you will vote for. This is one of the fastest ways to decide what to vote for.
4. Your State Voter Guide
Another condensed guide to the items on your ballot is the official state voter guide. State voter guides state what measures are about, arguments for both sides, and what each party supports. They also give some snippets of information about candidates. These guides are understandably thick!
Now go get informed for the election, y’all!