Where To Find Candidate Information

[RobinA]

I just convinced my 88-year-old mother to reregister to vote. She was a reliable Repub voter in the '50's and '60's when voting Repub meant Eisenhower. She dropped out in the '70's when things started to get weird. Anyway, she hates Trump with a purple passion and I have managed to convince her the Republicans aren't what they once were. She registered Repub, but realizes she will HAVE to vote Democratic. This is major cognitive dissonance for her because she was raised, '30's and '40's, to believe that the Democratic party is the Devil incarnate. This is a battle I can't win, because it means battling her deceased father. I'll take what I can get in that she is going to do the unthinkable - vote D.

Given that, she wants information on what the candidates stand for so she can make sure that the Dems she has to vote for aren't members of a cult that kills puppies and eats them (or whatever Dems were supposed to be doing back in the day that made it impossible to vote for them). I cannot find a site out there that gives a clear, concise rundown of positions of various candidates that doesn't require going to many sites and sifting through a lot of non-relevant information. She isn't computer literate and doesn't follow politics, but if I could find a site or two that just gave some basic info on positions of candidates on various issues it would be helpful. She does not have dementia and has no trouble comprehending basic info.

Does anyone have some favorite sites that provide basic voter information on candidates? I have not been able to find any. I find this surprisingly hard to find, even when I am searching for myself. I am in PA, if that is any help.

Thanks!

[thinkingagain]

1. Here are a couple

They may cross over but you can look at them first and share what ones you think will work best for her.

https://www.vote411.org/ ( I think this covers most states)

https://www.lwv.org/ (check and see if you have one for your state)

https://progressivevotersguide.com/ (this is for the state of Wa but I googled and it looks like similar ones for other states so check)

Hope this helps and congrats on getting her to at least look at the D's

[Scoopster]

2. I can help with that..

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gdQoFz1IUOZ1HAd0x7x5_3aqoSXd2JxT6FKRJCZBgVE/edit#gid=493343253

There's tabs for US House and Senate. Here's a link to check voter registration and districts : https://www.votespa.com/Pages/default.aspx

[Delmette2.0]

3. Try Ballotpedia.org

It will give you give voting records and much more on incumbents. You can search by state then name.

[JHan]

19. Yup, ballotpedia is my go to.

[Delmette2.0]

20. There are so many other resources.

Now I have to update my list and check them all out.

[WeekiWater]

4. On The Issues

http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

[LAS14]

8. Wo! This is a gold mine. Except that I will just unthinkingly vote D. :-)

[WeekiWater]

9. I sometimes go there to get quick talking points...

And they often display scores from organizations I support like NARAL.

Straight D is the only way to go.

[displacedtexan]

15. Voting a straight ticket can be a mistake in some (maybe all) states.

I've lived in 5 states, and in all of them, the "straight ticket vote" didn't include the local seats like judge, district attorney, school board, etc. Nor did it include the ballot issues.

Check your ballot rules on straight ticket voting. It sounds great, but it's a way republicans can keep you from voting down ticket, which is one of the ways they gained so much local and state control over the years. And local control makes state and fed control much easier to gain.

[peekaloo]

18. Agreed. It's better to mark each individual slot especially on touch screens.

Touch screens can "magically" eliminate certain candidates from a straight ticket.

Also review the results carefully.

As for the OP's inquiry you can't go wrong when consulting the League of Women Voters website(s). They give a ,measured analysis of all candidates/referendums.

[FSogol]

10. I'd beware of "On the Issues." The tend to swing libertarian.

See their staff. Notice any group that is missing?

Jeff Rushing, GOP candidates
Alan K. Jansen, Libertarian Party candidates
Dr. Travis Kidd, Constitution Party candidates
Paul Wilson, Natural Law Party candidates
Tony Santini, Green Party candidates

PS. Their graphs are complete nonsense.

[WeekiWater]

11. They provide pretty solid basic info including scores from some groups I support.

It's my understanding this place is run by a Democrat.

https://www.discussionist.com/

Sometimes ownership isn't the only thing to look at.

[FSogol]

12. It is slanted and a discusionist link does nothing to booster your argument. n/t

[WeekiWater]

14. I think it's a great place to go.

I will keep an eye out to see if they slant their NARAL scores.

[mercuryblues]

5. Not knowing the candidates on her ballot

the best I can say is

go to their websites.

For people like Mitch, get videos of them saying that Social Sec needs to be cut. Straight out of the horseface's mouth.

Opensecrets.org lists donations to candidates.

There are also several sites that list legislation and how a congressperson voted on it. Just remember that the name of the legislation is sometimes the exact opposite of what republicans are trying to pass.

Ex: Save Social Security act written by republicans will really be cutting it and privatizing it. Strengthening the 1st Amd would be registering journalists. And so on. there are several sites that give you a decent synopsis. WaPo is a good source for in depth journalism. Whether good or bad for your party of choice.

Google each candidate. For republicans that ain't gonna be pretty. You will come up with racist BS, votes against your best interests, campaign donations from NRA ... How those donations impact their voting.

[FSogol]

13. Her local Democratic party will have position literature. Start with them. n/t

[shraby]

6. Thanks for the links. I notice in ads on the t.v. they don't even mention which party they

are from anymore.

[world wide wally]

7. While we're at it, I wish there was a guide to the judges on the ballot.

Just knowing who appointed them would make a huge impact.
Last time I looked up each one individually, but I wish there was just one place I could go instead of googling each one.

[Basic LA]

16. Best way to know them is by the letter after their name.

'D' means they're for Social Security & Medicare. 'R' means they're against it. Sorry to sound glib, but it's the party, not the person.

[RobinA]

17. Thanks, All

I appreciate the helpful responses to my question. Definitely helpful.

As for "it's the party not the person - I agree, but people from an older generation grew up with very cemented views of the parties, and they were not the parties of today. For my mother, raised in the '30's and '40's, voting Dem is going against everything she was taught at her father's knee. BOTH my grandfathers were extremely anti - Democratic Party. I don't know exactly why because they were raised lower middle class, making it to solidly middle class due to the post WWII economy. They did well for their families, were comfortable, and left enough money behind to support my grandmothers comfortably for the rest of their lives. (What they did will never happen again, I guess.) They were self-made, basically being helped with nothing by their own struggling families. Were they now what would be considered racist? Probably. At that time, everybody pretty much frowned on every other group, who pre-war were struggling for the same resources. Hell, my paternal grandfather grew up in a manufacturing town and Catholics didn't marry non-Catholics and vice versa.