An estimated 73 percent of American adults said they use the Internet to get political news, take part in political activities or use social media for political purposes according to a 2010 Pew Internet Project survey. The Internet is increasingly useful as a tool for gathering political information and campaigning, but it can be an uncontrolled environment for misinformation. Below is a list of websites that research voter, candidate and election information: -Vote 411: a website launched in 2006 by the League of Women Voters Education Fund. It allows voters to enter their address and find information about the political races in their area. They can also look up individual candidates.
-Project Vote Smart: a non-profit foundation founded by former U.S. Senate democratic candidate Richard Kimball in 1992. The site offers individual candidate information. Enter the name of a politician and then select from information about the person's voting record, positions on issues, speeches and funding.
-On The Issues: an organization headquartered in Massachusetts and Montana and founded in 1996. It is a source for both researching candidates and reading about the various issues of importance for the upcoming elections. The site lists prominent national politicians and issues that are in the news right now.
-Open Secrets: a website run by the Center for Responsive Politics. It is a database of fundraising information for each candidate. Look up individual donors, candidates, companies or organizations to help learn about the influence of money in each campaign. The site collects public information as it becomes available and puts it into a searchable list.
These sites are not the only destination for political and campaign information. Most candidates have information on their individual websites and political parties all maintain sites about their platform.
BY RYAN DAVIS