Featured Online Resource: The End of Term Presidential Archive

Photo by diannehope at Morguefile.com

The End of Term Presidential Harvest has existed since 2008.  The Harvest is a cooperative project involving several Federal depository libraries who archive copies of government (and other) web sites just before transitions to a new presidential administration.  

Once archived, the information can be browse or searched.  The previous End of Term archives can be found here: http://eotarchive.cdlib.org/.

Web sites are vulnerable information resources since information can so easily be altered or removed over time.  According to the web site, "This harvest is intended to document federal agencies' presence on the World Wide Web during the transition of Presidential administrations and to enhance the existing collections of the partner institutions."

While participating libraries are managing the project, anybody may submit the address to a web page which they would like to see archived. To nominate an address, go to this link.   If you think you will be nominating many web sites, then you can also install a bookmarklet to your browser. Find the bookmarklets and instructions near the end of this page.

You may learn more about the End of Term Presidential Harvest here or through this New York Times article!

Featured Online Resource: Vote411.org

The Vote411.org web site is provided by the League of Women Voters, and includes a variety of information related to elections.

Of particular note is the Search by State and Topic option. This lets you find information such as early or absentee voting, ID requirements, polling places, and more that are specific to each state.

Know your Candidates and Understand the Ballot Measures

Another feature that is very helpful is the Candidate and Ballot Measure Information  Often, it is easy to find information about candidates for state and Federal offices, but local candidates can be more challenging.

Go to Candidate and Ballot Measure Information. Enter your address. (You must enter and address that exactly matches one of the suggestions that appear as you type, so be sure to click one of these options when you see a match.) Then, select the Show My Races button.  At this point, you can choose a particular office, and then compare 2 candidates at a time.  Some candidates may not have responded to the League of Women Voters questionnaire, and so their pages will be empty.

If there is a ballot measure on your ticket, information is often provided about the pros and cons for voting for or against that measure.

Save your selections!
This tool also provides check-boxes that allow you to make selections for future reference.  Use the Finish button at the top of the page if you would like to print or email yourself a list of your selections which you can bring with you when you vote! (If you don't see the Finish  button, click on View my Races.)

This tool provides straightforward, balanced information to help you make an educated choice when you vote. It is a little tricky to work with, but with patience, you should feel much more prepared when you go to your polling place!

Featured Online Resource: Presidential Election Information Resources

With the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries completed, and South Carolina Primaries and Washington Republican Caucuses coming up in the next few weeks (see calendar here), the Presidential race is really heating up!  Would you like to understand the presidential election process a little better?  You will find some resources below to help you become a presidential election expert in no time!

 

Fuller, Jena. Campaign-buttons.(CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Election Process

• Presidential Election Process (USA.gov) - Includes the steps involved in becoming President of the United States.  This site also provides links about the Electoral College, the schedule for primaries and caucuses for each state, 
• What is the difference between a caucus and a primary?  FactCheck .org provides an answer to this question!  Factcheck.org looks for documentation that backs up or disproves statements from politicians and 
• The US Electoral College - FAQ and additional information provided by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
•  Federal Voting Assistance Program - Information for service members, their families, and overseas citizens

Being an informed voter:

• A note on unbiased sources: There is no guarantee that any resource can be completely unbiased, including the resources listed below.  Even if you are seeing facts, there may be other important facts that have been omitted.  Be sure that you can find out where the information is coming from. (Are the sources documented?) Never rely on only one resource for gathering your information!
• FactCheck.org - FactCheck.org is run by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center.  Part of their mission is to "monitor 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." 
• Project Vote Smart -  VoteSmart provides information on candidates' voting records, positions on various issues, ratings by various organizations, speech transcripts, and funding information.. Their mission is "to provide free, factual, unbiased information on candidates and elected officials to ALL Americans." For every member who joins the Board of VoteSmart, there is a political opposite as well.
  

Local Information

Maryland & Allegany County

• Maryland Primary Election - Tuesday, April 26, 2016 (Maryland election calendar)
• Maryland - Find your Polling Place - Tool provided by the MD Board of Elections 
• Register to vote in Maryland - (MD Board of Elections)
• Allegany County Election Office -  Information and services available from Allegany County government.

Other areas 

• Find your local election office - USA.gov
• Register to vote (any state) - USA.gov
• State Election Dates and Deadlines - US Vote Foundation
• State Caucus and Primary Election  Dates - Federal Election Commission

Documentation

• Campaign Reporting - You can find financial disclosures,  statements of candidacy and more for each campaign in a presidential election.
• Maryland Board of Elections - Information about voting procedures, elections,campaign finance for the State of Maryland.

Featured Online Resources: Voter Information Web Sites

November 4 is Election Day. Have you decided who you will be voting for this year?

"I Voted Sticker" by Dwight Burdett is licensed under CC Attribution 3.0 Unported.

Below, you will finds a list of resources that may help you find more information about voting and the candidates.

General Information

• US Election Assistance Commission - Resources for Voters - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and tips about voting in the United States.
• Local Maryland Boards of Elections - Lists individual web sites for Maryland counties.
• Additional Federal Government Resources - from USA.gov.

Voting Places:

• Maryland Polling Place Lookup - Use your street address to locate polling places for registered voters in Maryland.
• Vote411.org - Nationwide service to help find polling places.

Learn about the Candidates

• Project VoteSmart - Compiles information on candidates' voting records, positions, and more. 
• ISideWith.com - Uses quizzes to help voters determine where they fall on the political spectrum. Voter guides for each state match answers to candidates in that state.

Also consider accessing candidates' own web pages to see where they stand on issues.

Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.