How to Research a Politician
Look up their records with Project Vote Smart., Go to GovTrack.us., Read the League of Women Voters’ Voter Guide.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Look up their records with Project Vote Smart.
Project Vote Smart is among the most comprehensive data sources for political officials and candidates around, covering both state and national officeholders.
You can find speeches, legislation, ratings, votes, issue positions, and sources of funding.A “rating” is determined by an interest group—for instance, the NRA or the Sierra Club might rate a candidate from A-F on gun or environmental issues, respectively.
Issue positions are determined from candidates filling out surveys from neutral organizations such as the League of Women Voters.
With respect to ideology, the most relevant sources of information are ratings and issue positions.
Simply type the politician’s name in the search box at the top of votesmart.org.
When they come up, the webpage will prompt you to choose which type of information you’re interested in.
Vote Smart also has a quiz on their website that will match you to candidates.
Take it at http://votesmart.org/voteeasy/#.
If you want to examine the bills an official has voted for or sponsored, simply go to http://votesmart.org/bills and enter the official’s information. -
Step 2: Go to GovTrack.us.
The easiest way to get a sense of a politician’s ideological leanings is to find a neutral source that categorizes and sorts politicians according to ideology.
GovTrack.us is among the best of these.
It is simple to use, detailed, and wide-ranging.
As long as the politician you’re researching is a member of Congress, GovTrack.us is a simple and quick way to find out about their ideological orientation.From the GovTrack.us homepage, click on “Members of Congress” on the left-hand side of the page.
You can look up the congressperson by address, state, district, or name.
After you’ve searched, just click on the name of the representative or senator.
On the right-hand side of the congressperson’s page, you’ll see graph made up of red and blue dots.
Red dots represent Republican members and blue dots represent Democrats.
The farther right or left they are on the graph, the farther right or left they are ideologically.
Your member will be highlighted with a purple triangle.
From the member’s page, you can also look at the bill they’ve sponsored, their voting history, committee assignments, even attendance. , The LWV’s Voter Guide is among the oldest and most respected sources of information on the issue positions of candidates and elected officials.
All you have to do to get a personalized ballot with issue positions for all candidates in your area is enter your address at http://www.vote411.org/enter-your-address?dest=voting-dossier.As you might imagine, the Guide is only as good as the information that gets put into it.
Politicians are free to answer or not answer when the LWV sends them a survey, but a failure to respond is its own statement. -
Step 3: Read the League of Women Voters’ Voter Guide.
Detailed Guide
Project Vote Smart is among the most comprehensive data sources for political officials and candidates around, covering both state and national officeholders.
You can find speeches, legislation, ratings, votes, issue positions, and sources of funding.A “rating” is determined by an interest group—for instance, the NRA or the Sierra Club might rate a candidate from A-F on gun or environmental issues, respectively.
Issue positions are determined from candidates filling out surveys from neutral organizations such as the League of Women Voters.
With respect to ideology, the most relevant sources of information are ratings and issue positions.
Simply type the politician’s name in the search box at the top of votesmart.org.
When they come up, the webpage will prompt you to choose which type of information you’re interested in.
Vote Smart also has a quiz on their website that will match you to candidates.
Take it at http://votesmart.org/voteeasy/#.
If you want to examine the bills an official has voted for or sponsored, simply go to http://votesmart.org/bills and enter the official’s information.
The easiest way to get a sense of a politician’s ideological leanings is to find a neutral source that categorizes and sorts politicians according to ideology.
GovTrack.us is among the best of these.
It is simple to use, detailed, and wide-ranging.
As long as the politician you’re researching is a member of Congress, GovTrack.us is a simple and quick way to find out about their ideological orientation.From the GovTrack.us homepage, click on “Members of Congress” on the left-hand side of the page.
You can look up the congressperson by address, state, district, or name.
After you’ve searched, just click on the name of the representative or senator.
On the right-hand side of the congressperson’s page, you’ll see graph made up of red and blue dots.
Red dots represent Republican members and blue dots represent Democrats.
The farther right or left they are on the graph, the farther right or left they are ideologically.
Your member will be highlighted with a purple triangle.
From the member’s page, you can also look at the bill they’ve sponsored, their voting history, committee assignments, even attendance. , The LWV’s Voter Guide is among the oldest and most respected sources of information on the issue positions of candidates and elected officials.
All you have to do to get a personalized ballot with issue positions for all candidates in your area is enter your address at http://www.vote411.org/enter-your-address?dest=voting-dossier.As you might imagine, the Guide is only as good as the information that gets put into it.
Politicians are free to answer or not answer when the LWV sends them a survey, but a failure to respond is its own statement.
About the Author
Kevin Stewart
Writer and educator with a focus on practical pet care knowledge.
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