The Internet is the perfect tool for getting a jump-start
on the issues that matter to your community.
Stateline.org
As the name suggests, its state-specific pages include articles,
statistics and links to official state Web pages. The Press Center
for journalists allows access to contact information for experts, and communication
with fellow state political reporters.
www.stateline.org
Policy.com
Now folded within SpeakOut.com,
their Issues Library
includes a range of articles from specialized magazines and think tanks. Also,
the site’s Organizations
by Issue section is a valuable source of contacts and experts.
www.policy.com
Public Agenda Online
One focus of this project is improving public engagement in the
issues. They offer several publications and other
materials to foster community conversations about the issues.
www.publicagenda.org
Rock the Vote
Activist organizations — especially those dedicated to getting
out the vote — often highlight important issues at stake. Rock the Vote,
a youth-oriented organization, has updates on issues such as the environment
and education
as well as pertinent links to other organizations.
www.rockthevote.org
League of Women Voters
The mission of this organization is to create knowledgeable voters
by educating them on issues. The site includes background information on recent
legislation and briefs on LWV’s agenda for issues such as gun control.
www.lwv.org
Initiative and Referendum
Institute
This site specializes in tracking initiatives and referenda on
the local, state, and national levels. From this page, you can also access Ballot Watch
to find out what state referenda citizens will be asked to vote on during election
season.
www.iandrinstitute.org
National Council on
Public Polls
Before reporting polls, consult their 20
Questions a Journalist Should Ask About a Poll. Keep this Q&A sheet handy
when reporting and analyzing polls, and you won’t be caught highlighting
a dubious survey or misinterpreting the results.
www.ncpp.org
Gallup Polls
On Gallup’s site are hundreds of polls on all aspects of
politics, elections, and American life. Their article, “How
Polls are Conducted,” provides answers to frequently asked questions
about Gallup polls and scientific polls in general.
www.gallup.com
Polling Report
A compendium of current national polls, with additional data
available by subscription.
www.pollingreport.com
Pew Center for the
People and the Press
A good source for research on the public’s attitudes towards
the press, politics and public policy. Past surveys have looked at voters’
sources of campaign news, voter turnout and the resonance of the character issue
with voters.
www.people-press.org
Vanishing Voter
Vanishing Voter is an initiative of the Joan Shorenstein Center
on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School
of Government. The main feature of the site is the voter involvement index, a
weekly measure of voter involvement in national campaigns.
www.vanishingvoter.org
Washington Post’s
Data Directory
A collection of links to many polling and social statistics organizations
on the Web, including state-level polling groups.
washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls