Impartial information about the presidential candidates and the issues confronting the voting public are at a premium during the election season. The following websites help separate the wheat from the chaff in our quest to make informed decisions about the candidates.
The League of Women Voters Education Fund
www.VOTE411.org
A "one-stop-shop" for election related information, providing nonpartisan information to the public with both general and state-specific information.
Annenberg Public Policy Center
http://www.factcheck.org/
A nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics by the monitoring of factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
St. Petersburg Times/CQ
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly to help the public find the truth in the presidential campaign. Every day, reporters and researchers from the Times and CQ analyze the candidates' speeches, TV ads and interviews and determine whether the claims are accurate.
Project Vote Smart
http://www.votesmart.org/
Picture this: thousands of citizens (conservative and liberal alike) working together, spending endless hours researching the backgrounds and records of thousands of political candidates and elected officials to discover their voting records, campaign contributions, public statements, biographical data (including their work history) and evaluations of them generated by over 100 competing special interest groups. Every election these volunteers test each candidate's willingness to provide citizens with their positions on the issues they will most likely face if elected through the Political Courage Test.
The Tax Foundation
http://www.taxfoundation.org/
The mission of the Tax Foundation is to educate taxpayers about sound tax policy and the size of the tax burden borne by Americans at all levels of government. From its founding in 1937, the Tax Foundation has earned a reputation for independence and credibility.
The Tax Policy Center
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/
The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. Made up of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government, TPC provides timely, accessible analysis and facts about tax policy to policymakers, journalists, citizens, and researchers.
Center for Responsive Politics
http://www.opensecrets.org/
The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the organization aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more responsive government.
Submitted by Barbara Silberstein.