GUIDE TO ELECTION RESOURCES
2008 Election Dates | U.S. | State & Local | Langsdale Databases
2008 Election Dates
Maryland's Presidential Primary Election is on Tuesday, February 12.
For a list of primary candidates and delegates, please go to:
http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2008/documents/2008_candidates.pdf
(Note: Candidates who have dropped out may still appear on the ballot.)
To see your sample ballot, go to the Maryland Voter Information System (must verify your voter registration first): http://mdelections.umbc.edu/voter_registration/v2/vote_prod.php
The Presidential General Election will be held Tuesday, November 4.
The last day to register to vote in the General Election is Tuesday, October 14.
The complete election calendar is available from the Maryland Board of Elections: http://www.elections.state.md.us/pdf/2008_pres_election_calendar.pdf
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U.S. Elections
Common Cause. http://www.commoncause.org
A nonpartisan nonprofit advocacy organization. Find information on election reform, campaign finance, government accountability and more.
Federal Election Commission. http://www.fec.gov/
Search and view campaign fincance disclosures by donor, candidate, or party/PAC (Political Action Committee); online database goes back to 1993.
Glassbooth. http://glassbooth.org/
This non-partisan site offers some help in narrowing down the list of possible candidates: decide which issues are most important to you, then take a quiz find out which candidates best match your views and why (you can save the URL to come back to your results). You can also skip the quiz and browse by candidate or issue.
OnTheIssues. http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm
This non-partisan website offers information on the positions of current (and withdrawn) presidential candidates
on a variety of issues. The site also includes a quiz to help you find out which candidate best matches your political stance (available in a private [no-cookies] version and a regular version that will allow you to save your answers).
Opensecrets.org. http://www.opensecrets.org/
A website that tracks money in politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Run by the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan, non-profit research group.
Project Vote Smart. http://www.vote-smart.org/
Track the performance of politicians at the federal, state and local level.
USElections.com. http://www.uselections.com
Links to official campaign websites at the federal, state and local level.
VoteGopher. http://www.votegopher.com/
Founded by Harvard students, this non-partisan website tracks the 2008 presidential candidates and political issues. Find quotes and video clips, or create an account to share coverage and join the discussion (be sure to read the Editorial Policy first).
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State & Local Elections
Baltimore City Board of Elections. http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/elections/index.php
Maryland Political Parties. http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/40party/html/parties.html
Get information on the six political parties recognized by the State Board of Elections.
Maryland State Board of Elections. http://www.elections.state.md.us/
Download a voter registration form, find your polling place, get information on the candidates and more.
Maryland Voter Information Clearinghouse. http://mdelections.umbc.edu/
Maintained by the National Center for the Study of Elections at UMBC. Get information on voter registration, candidates, and campaign finances.
Local Election News Coverage:
Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel.http://baltimorechronicle.com/
Baltimore City Paper. http://www.citypaper.com/digest.asp?columntitle=Campaign%20Beat
Baltimore Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/Baltimore-Local_Politics.html
Baltimore Sun.http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/elections/
For other media sources, please visit the Yahoo Directory for Baltimore Media .
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Langsdale Databases
You can find additional information on candidates and issues by checking newspapers and magazines; here are a few Langsdale databases that will help.
Academic
Search Premier [on-campus]
[help]
Coverage: 1990 - present.
Provides full-text for over 3,400 scholarly journals covering the social sciences,
humanities, education, sciences, and more. Funded by the Maryland Digital Library
(MDL).
Baltimore
Sun [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Sept 16, 1990 - present. Full text of Baltimore Sun.
Lexis-Nexis
Academic [on-campus]
[help]
Coverage: 1970 - present. Features full text of many newspapers and periodicals.
Also offers business news, legal materials such as federal & state codes,
case law and legal journals.
- The New York Times (1851-2003) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Coverage: Sept 18,1851-Dec 31, 2003
- The Wall Street Journal (1889-1989) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Coverage: July 8, 1889-Dec 31, 1989
- The Washington Post (1877-1990) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Coverage: Dec 12, 1877-Dec 31, 1990
National
Newspapers (NA5) with Washington Post [[on-campus]]
Coverage: Varies with each title back to 1984.
Full text of 5 newspapers:
Baltimore Sun, Christian Science Monitor, New Yirk Times Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition
and the Washington Post.
For more help finding election information, please stop by the Reference Desk or call 410-837-4274. You can also e-mail us at langref@ubalt.edu.
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How-to_election: 1/08 TFS