Voter's Guide: Research Candidates & Issues

Helpful resources

Ballotpedia: A nonprofit, nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that is simple and clear. Use it to check candidate background, voting record, and election results.

18by.vote: Every two years, seven million Americans turn 18 and become eligible to vote; this site prepares soon-to-be and first-time voters to exercise their democratic right and civic duty.

Project Vote Smart: A nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that collects and distributes verified info about candidates for public office.

Vote411.org: Nonpartisan information about candidates' positions on issues; includes telephone numbers for assistance in Spanish, Arabic, and multiple Asian languages. Run by the League of Women voters.

Fact check

Center for Public Integrity: One of the oldest and largest nonprofit news organizations in the country. The Pulitzer Prize–winning newsroom is made up of reporters, editors, and data journalists who dig deep to deliver national and international investigative journalism of lasting significance.

FactCheck.org: Designed to help voters by “monitoring the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.” A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

PolitiFact: A fact-checking website founded by editors of Time Magazine in conjunction with Congressional Quarterly.