:
Elections and Politics
These interactive exercises help users get a better handle on the political process.

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A non-partisan group blog that examines how the 2008 presidential candidates are using the web. Site includes original reporting on topics including video-blogging, social networking, and tracks candidates' online videos and number of “friends” on such sites at Facebook and MySpace.

LJWorld.com - 2007 Lawrence City Commision General Election Results

Lawrence Journal World and 6News took advantage of all the web has to offer in covering the 2007 race for City Commisioner. Each candidate had a page on their site using multiple media to cover all aspects of the campaign process. They used interactive maps to display results in a unique way.

WashingtonPost.com - 2008 Campaign Tracker

A database driven tracker provides the user up to date information about each of the presidential candidates’ travels, fundraising, comparisons with other candidates and other campaign-related information. It is intended for use not just by readers, but also by other journalists and organizations. The tracker has been covering events since January 2007.

MSNBC - Rate the Candidates - The Debates

MSNBC's Rate The Candidates allows you to watch video clips of each presidential candidate from debates. After watching the video, you rate each candidate and submit your ratings to see how the candidates stack up against each other in the eye of the public. Cast your vote for both parties.

WHYY Philadelphia - The Next Mayor

The Next Mayor project is an innovative multimedia partnership to focus on voter issues in the 2007 Philadelphia mayor's race. Included on the site are blogs, videos submitted by organizers of more than 100 candidate forums, 1,260 videos submitted on a YouTube site, neighborhood reporting of citizen issues and a news archive of all candidate coverage.

Denver Post Politics Game: Pick the Ticket

The Denver Post and Politics West have created a game that allows you to choose who appears on the presidential election ballot. Pick the presidential and vice-presidential candidates for both parties, cast your vote and see how your ballot compares to others. Then take a look at the top tickets and overall top candidates.

The Morning Call - News Widgets

The Morning Call believes itself to be the first newspaper in the country to develop widgets that can be embedded in other web sites to allow users to search the newspaper’s databases without needing to visit to the paper’s web site. The widgets allow users to search datasbases of regional kennels and inspection reports, of outdoor calendar activities and presidential poll results.

WashingtonPost.com - Congressional Votes Database

Want to know how your senator or congressman is voting on issues? Interested in seeing who skips the most votes? WashingtonPost.com created this database that allows users to browse every vote in the United States Congress since 1991. Users can get a specific congress member's vote history or see what a previous year's congress voted on. The database is updated daily and offers RSS feeds on recent votes or by congress member.

MSNBC.com - The Big Picture: Campaign Adviser

MSNBC.com continues "The Big Picture" series with a feature that allows users to take on the role of a presidential campaign adviser. Pick a candidate, choose your issues, decide your battleground states and produce a 30-second campaign ad. Once finished, users message one other about strategy choices or use their ads to get people to vote for their candidate in MSNBC.com's poll.

The Pew Research Center for The People & The Press - Beyond Red vs. Blue

There is more than just right and left on the political spectrum. Find out where you fit among social conservatives, liberals, conservative democrats, upbeats, disaffecteds and more. The Pew Research Center put together this set of 25 questions about where you stand on key political issues to tell you which of nine political typology groups you fit into. See the descriptions and demographics for your typology and others, on what issues they differ most from the general population and how each voted in the 2004 election.

WashingtonPost.com - Spheres of Influence

Who helped the President get elected, and how have they benefitted from that support? The Post used Flash to tie together a database of George W. Bush's biggest 2000 campaign donors with a graphical map of how those donors connect to Bush and one another. Clicking on any person or group on the map brings up their background information, including the amount they donated and what political appointments they received after Bush took office.

PBS.org - ByThePeople 2004

PBS' coverage of the 2004 election included essays and commentary about the election, a guide to interpreting debates, polls and political ads, and an interactive ballot. Visitors could type in their ZIP code and see a complete list of candidates on their local ballot, with links to each candidate's vital statistics, campaign finances, voting record and more.

Public Agenda / New York Times- First Choice 2004

Rather than compare one candidate to another, this site from the nonprofit, nonpartisan group Public Agenda gave potential voters background information about the issues underlying the presidential race. Voters were asked what positions they held on key issues, then presented with arguments for and against those decisions. Interactive quizzes allowed potential voters to test their knowledge about the issues surrounding the election. The site was produced in cooperation with the New York Times Learning Network.

L.A. Times - 2004 Electoral Vote Tracker

The L.A. Times' Flash-based interactive map of the 2004 U.S. presidential election results, with numbers drawn from pollingreport.com, allowed users to roll over each state for a list of the latest polling data from that state, and its voting record in previous elections. A link to archived elections allowed users to see the state-by-state results of every election in U.S. history.

Washingtonpost.com - Veep-O-Matic 2004

This exercise invites people to select from 16 different criteria the five qualities--such as military service or congressional experience--they would most like to see in a Democratic vice presidential candidate. Then it matches those choices with possible candidates to be John Kerry's running mate. It provides lists of any of the candidates' names and turns up biographical history, including past actions that could help or hinder their selection.

MSNBC News - Veepstakes

As part of its Decision 2004 coverage MSNBC News' Veepstakes allows users to vote for their favorite John Kerry running mate. The game includes three steps: rank your favorites, submit your picks and check back weekly. Move the candidates up or down on the list and read editorial comments about your choice. The five top vote getters appear the next week, while the lowest vote getters are "out."

WBUR-FM and Online NewsHour - Vote by Issue Quiz

WBUR-FM has teamed up with a national partner, The Online NewsHour, to adapt the station's Vote by Issues Quiz that was developed for last year's governor's race, to the Democratic presidential primaries. "We had the tool and [The NewsHour] had the clout to get candidates to fill it out" with their position statements, said Robin Lubbock, WBUR's Director of New Media. Together, the partners came up with the list of issues. Other stations, including New Hampshire Public Radio, are linking to the exercise.

Minnesota Public Radio - Select A Candidate

LJWorld.com introduces this candidate selector as "a fun and educational tool that can help you decide which candidates you agree with the most" in the local city commision race. You read through the candidates' positions on issues such as budget cuts and tax abatement and select which ones you agree with the most. The selector then ranks the candidates based on how many of their statements you agreed with, and provides links to more information on each one.

Spokane "Campaign 2004 Democratic
Issues" Quiz

The Spokesman Review set up this electronic quiz to help voters identify which candiates they agree with most. First, 10 key issues were identified by surverying readers. Next, statements regarding these issues were gleaned from seven Democratic candidates, their names removed, and answers posted on the web site. At the end of the quiz users find out how often they agree with each candidate.

Spokane "Campaign 2003 Issues" Quiz

The Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review set up this selector to help visitors decide the Fall 2003 local mayor and council president races. Users choose the quotes they most agree with on a variety of issues, from law enforcement to business, and then find out which candidate they agree with on each issue.