BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Comprehensive Web Sites |
Election Process
CANDIDATES
Congressional Candidates |
Congressional Districts
Michigan Candidates/Proposals |
Presidential Candidates |
State Candidates
CAMPAIGN
Advertising |
Campaign Finances |
Candidate Resources |
Conventions |
Debates |
Gaming
Humor |
Lobby Groups |
Lobby Group Ratings |
Media Coverage |
Platforms |
Political Parties |
Public Opinion Polls
POLICY ISSUES
Comprehensive |
Candidate/Voter Issue Matching |
Abortion
Affirmative Action |
Civil Rights |
Economics |
Education |
Election 2000 |
Energy |
Environment
Foreign Opinion |
Gay Marriage |
Gun Control |
Health |
Health Insurance Coverage |
Homeland Security
Iraq |
Jobs |
Medicare |
Military Service |
Skull & Bones |
Social Security |
Terrorism
ELECTION RESULTS AND VOTING
General Election Results - 2004 |
Primaries and Caucuses
Election Laws |
Electoral College |
Election Monitoring
Voting Machine Malfunctions |
Voter Registration & Participation
HISTORICAL ELECTIONS
Historical Campaigns |
Historical Election Results
AFTER THE ELECTION
Cabinet Changes |
Plum Book |
Prune Book
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Books |
Periodicals |
News Sources
Last updated on September 14,
2006
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- Ben's Guide to
U.S. Government for Kids (GPO)
- Describes federal government for grades K-2, 3-5,
6-8, 9-12, and teachers/parents
- Describes the nation, historic documents, branches of government,
national v. state authority, how laws are made, elections, and citizenship
- Pleasing graphics, a glossary, games and activities
- Includes list of federal
government web sites for children
- Center for Voting and
Democracy
- Think tank providing background information on election issues
- Redistricting, proportion representation, instant runoff issues, and
voter turnout
- CQ Voting and Elections
Collection (UMich Only)
- Use main screen to search for statewide election results for President and Congress,
(primary, general and caucus), 1789
to present
- Main screen includes articles and selected documents on the election process and
political parties, browsable within category or searchable by keyword (e.g. internet
voting)
- Side frame permits manipulation of party control and party split data
- Export/download on side frame provides Excel spreadsheets of historic Presidential,
Gubernatorial and Congressional elections by state and county or Congressional District;
equivalent of paper America Votes
- Elections 2004 (State
Dept. Foreign Press Center)
- Comprehensive web links and articles on the election process: primaries,
caucuses, issues, electoral college, public opinion polls
- This
Nation
- Online textbook on American government
- Chapters on foundations (American Revolution, constitution,
self-rule, federalism), the branches of government,
legislative and budget processes, public opinion, voting
- Glossary of political terms, teaching aids, and a library of full
text documents (major Supreme Court decisions, declarations of war,
etc.)
- United
States
Electoral College (NARA)
- Electoral college laws and procedures
- Number of electoral votes per state for the 2004 elections
- State-by-state electoral college votes, 1789-2000
- United
States Government (Grolier On-Line)
- Encyclopedic description of constitution, three branches of
government, voting, and political parties
- From the New Book of Knowledge (Grades 3-8)
- See is American
Presidency for links to additional articles in the
Academic American Encyclopedia and
Encyclopedia Americana
- America Votes
(CNN)
- Compares Presidential candidates on the issues and campaign finances
- Tracks Democratic primary election results and delegate totals
- Election calendar and public opinion polls
- Congress.org
- Lists major Presidential candidates and their ISSUE positions on Civilian Reserve, DC
representation, economy, education, environment, job creation, health care, national security, and tax policy
- State-by-state information on voter registration and upcoming elections
- Will eventually include links to
Congressional and state legislative races by state
- Elections
2004
- Well-organized "open directory" of web sites pertaining to 2004
elections
- Separate sections on Presidential, Congressional, and state
elections
- Elections
(Vanderbilt)
- Well-organized links to election web sites for 2000, 2002, and 2004
- Includes candidates, parties, campaign finances, and voter
registration
- News
and Media Coverage (Open Directory)
- List of television and newspaper web sites with national and regional election
coverage
- Politics 1
(Politics 1)
- Pictures and biographies of declared and undeclared presidential
candidates
- Republican, Democrat, and third party, as well as independents
- Additional annotated to links to presidential debates and public
opinion POLLS
- State-by-state listing of gubernatorial and Congressional candidates
and their web sites
- Project Vote Smart
- Biographies, LOBBY GROUP ratings, CAMPAIGN RECEIPTS by Political
Action Committee subject groupings
- Candidate answers to the National Political
Awareness Test, a questionnaire on ISSUES in the election
- Congress, Governors, President, and State Legislatures
- Washington Post
Elections
- Presidential and Congressional election news stories
- Search for political ADVERTISEMENTS which have aired and transcripts of
Presidential DEBATES
- As of 1/24/04, expected to handicap Congressional and Senatorial
races using the CQ Risk Ratings
CANDIDATES
Candidates
- Candidate Profiles (Center
for Responsive
Politics)
- List of Congressional District and Senatorial races by
state
- Lists CAMPAIGN FINANCES received and spent and campaign
contributions
by interest
sector
- Includes top
contributors
- Congress.org
- Lists major Presidential candidates and their positions on Civilian Reserve, DC
representation, economy, education, environment, job creation, health care, national security, and tax policy
- State-by-state information on voter registration and upcoming elections
- Will eventually include links to
Congressional and state legislative races by state
- Congressional District Boundaries
- American
Factfinder
- Draw Congressional District
boundary maps by first going to
Reference
Maps
- Then search or browse for name
of state
- Under
Boundaries
choose
Boundaries
and Labels
for STATE, COUNTIES, CITIES,
PLACES, and 108th CONGRESSIONAL
DISTRICTS
- Zip
to It (Juan
Cabanela)
- Put in five or nine
digit zip code to determine
senators and representatives
for the 108th Congress
- Google
Web Directory: U.S. Elections
- Annotated links to quality web sites on U.S. elections, campaign
finance, former candidates, political humor
- 2000-2004 elections
- House Candidates: 2004
(UMich)
- Spreadsheet of 109th and 108th Congresses with retirements and races
- Color-coded to permit easy visualization of possible party
realignments
- Also available in PDF
format
- Primary location: Elections 2004
- Politics1.com
- Project Vote Smart
- Biographies, LOBBY GROUP ratings, CAMPAIGN RECEIPTS by Political
Action Committee subject groupings
- Candidate answers to the National Political
Awareness Test, a questionnaire on ISSUES in the election
- Congress, Governors, President, and State Legislatures
- Senate Candidates: 2004
(UMich)
- Spreadsheet of 109th and 108th Congresses with continuing Senators
and Senate races
- Color-coded to permit easy visualization of possible party
realignments
- Also available in PDF
format
- Washington Post
Elections
- Presidential and Congressional election news stories
- Search for political ADVERTISEMENTS which have aired and transcripts of
Presidential DEBATES
- As of 1/24/04, expected to handicap Congressional and Senatorial
races using the CQ Risk Ratings
Incumbents
- Almanac
of American Politics (UMich Only)
- Biennial biographical directory of Members of Congress
- Lengthy information about the politics of the Congressional District
- Brief CAMPAIGN FINANCES, LOBBY GROUP ratings, and key roll call VOTES
- Web version back to 1998
- Paper copy in Documents Center JK 1012 .A44 with current in Graduate Library Stacks
- Clerk of the House
- Historical data includes national electoral college results since the
1st Congress, Presidential and Senatorial election results by state and
House by district since 1920
- Data on the political divisions in Congress since the 34th
Congress
- CQ
Congress Collection (UMich Only)
- Member search provides detailed political biographies, brief election statistics, and
LOBBY GROUP ratings since the 97th Congress
- Additional interactive features: analyze VOTING ALIGNMENTS between members, their
state delegations, and PARTY UNITY
- Analyze lobby group ratings of individuals Members and groups of Members
- Incumbent Plans
- UMich affiliates should see CQ
Weekly Report, Jan. 3, 2004, p. 42 for a list of current Congressional members and their reasons for not running for re-election
- Politics
in America (UMich Only)
- Profile section includes biographical, campaign finance,
district, and election information; bills introduced, current speeches,
roll call votes for members of the 106th Congress
- Web version (CQ Congress Collection) not labelled as printed title but includes
the same information
- Doc.Cen. JK 1012 .A44
Comprehensive | Candidate Matching | Candidate Web
Sites and Comparison | Primary Results
- Congress.org
- Lists major Presidential candidates and their ISSUE positions on Civilian Reserve, DC
representation, economy, education, environment, job creation, health care, national security, and tax policy
- State-by-state information on voter registration and upcoming elections
- Will eventually include links to
Congressional and state legislative races by state
- CQ
Congress Collection (UMich Only)
- Information for Edwards, Gephardt, Kerry, Kucinich, Lieberman, Moseley-Braun
- Member search provides detailed political biographies, brief election statistics, and
LOBBY GROUP ratings since the 97th Congress
- Additional interactive features: analyze VOTING ALIGNMENTS between members, their
state delegations, and PARTY UNITY
- Analyze lobby group ratings of individuals Members and groups of Members
- FactCheck (Univ of
Pennsylvania)
- Analyzes claims made by politicians in the news to determine their
accuracy
- New entries several times per week
- How to Run for the Presidency
- Michigan
Quaker Peace Forum
- Positions of nine Democratic and one Republican Presidential candidate
and 10 ISSUES
- Detailed information on campaign finance, education, health care,
economy, and international relations
- On the
Issues
- Extensive web site analyzing positions of all Presidential candidates
as well as incumbent governors, senators and House members on a
breaktaking variety of campaign issues
- Relies on their voting records but also includes position
statements
- Presidency 2004
(Politics 1)
- Pictures and biographies of declared and undeclared presidential
candidates
- Republican, Democrat, and third party, as well as independents
- Extensive links to positive and negative G.W. Bush web sites
- Additional annotated to links to presidential debates and public
opinion polls
- The premier web site early in the 2004 campaign
- Presidential Candidate
Statements
- Project Vote Smart
- Biographies, LOBBY GROUP ratings, CAMPAIGN RECEIPTS by Political
Action Committee subject groupings
- Candidate answers to the National Political
Awareness Test, a questionnaire on ISSUES in the election
- Congress, Governors, President, and State Legislatures
- Excellent list of independent candidates
- What
Makes A Good President (American Psychological
Association)
- Press release of presentation made at the American Psychological
Association Convention on August 5, 2000
- Identifies stubbornness and disagreeableness as the two most
important personal characteristics for great presidents
- Classifies past U.S. presidents into eight personality types
Candidate/Voter Issue Matching
- President Match
(Time and AOL)
- Interactive questionnaire giving user a match on the ISSUES to the Democratic and
Republican candidates
- May also compare two candidates side-by-side on the issues
- Vote by Issue (WBUR)
- Users can read detailed candidate positions on 14 ISSUES
- Matches voters to appropriate Democratic primary candidate
Presidential
Candidate Web
Sites
- Michigan
Unofficial General Election Results (Secy. of State)
- Results for President, school board, proposals, university governance,
judgeships, and statewide proposals by county
- Results for Congressional and state legislative districts by district
- Michigan Ballot
Proposals
- Voter Approval for New Table Gambling (04-01)
- Definition of Marriage (04-02)
- Summary
- Full
Text and Analysis
- Analysis of impact includes marriage and domestic partnership laws in other
states and those employers in Michigan providing same sex benefits
- Official
Candidate List, November 2004 (Secretary of State)
- List of all candidates for federal and state office on the November
2, 2004 ballot
- Includes office, name, party, address
- Congressional Candidates (Politics
1)
- List of Michigan Congressional candidates by district and their web sites
- Includes all parties running
- Election 2004
(Michigan Electronic Library)
- Primary and caucus information
- County election web sites with sample ballots and election results - to be developed
- Michigan Democratic Party
- Application to vote in the Michigan democratic caucus on February 7, 2004
- List of party caucus
sites and libraries
which will accept online voting
- Michigan
Elections (Michigan Department of State)
- State-wide general and primary election results by district beginning
with the 1994 primaries; registered voters
- Election, campaign, and lobby registration laws
- Filing deadlines, ballot proposals
- Election districts for the various state offices arranged by
county
- List of candidates for state offices and their campaign finances -- eventually
- Voter registration instructions
- Michigan Green
Party
Candidates for Congressional, State and County Offices
- Michigan Libertarian
Candidates for Congressional, State and County Offices
- Michigan Republican Party
- Michigan
Voting Information: Frequently Asked Questions (UMich)
- How to verify your registration and obtain an advance copy of your ballot
- Provisional voting and vote challenges in Michigan
- Prepared by Kathleen Folger of the UMich Foster Library
- Publius Voter Information Center
- Allows individuals to verify their voter registration status
- Will eventually allow voters to view their local ballot prior to the primaries
and general election
- Washtenaw
County Clerk
- Ballot proposals and candidates throughout all county jurisdictions
- Primary results
- Campaign finances
- Voter registration information
- Governors'
Races (Stateline)
- List of November 2004 governors' elections and candidates
- Governors' Terms
of Office (National Governors Association)
- Lists governors by state
- Indicates when term ends; 1/05 indicates an election due
- Politics1
- Lists Congressional and gubernatorial candidates by state
- Links to their web sites when available
- Secretary
of State Offices (National Association of Secretaries
of State)
- Links to state Secretary of State offices
- Individual web sites often have campaign information and election
results
- State
Political Parties (National Political Index)
- Mayoral Elections Data Base (US Conference of Mayors)
- Lists 2003 elections by city and date of inauguration
- Expected to carry the 2004 elections
CAMPAIGN
- AdWatch (Washington Post)
- Video and transcripts of Presidential candidate ads, including those
aired during the primary
- Searchable by candidate or keyword in transcript
- Access through a pull-down menu at the bottom of the page
- Bush Campaign
Ads
- Video with Windows Media Player, Real Video or Quick Time
Player
- Ease History
(MSU)
- Clips of television Presidential campaign ads, 1952-2004
- Uses flash player
- Searchable by year, winners/losers, positive/negiative, issues, and themes
- Stunning piece of research
- Kerry Campaign
Ads
- Video with Windows Media Player or Real Video
- Livingroom
Candidate
- Major presidential campaign ads, 1952-2004
- Uses Windows Media Player or RealPlayer
- MoveOn.org
- "Bush in 30 Seconds" ads
- High bandwidth, low bandwith, and stills
- National
Journal Ad Spotlight (UMich Only)
- Campaign ads using Real Player since 1998
- Presidential, gubernatorial, and Congressional races
- Some of the Kerry ads for 2004 work with the remote proxy server;
many group ads and those pre-dating 2004 do not work off-campus
- RealPlayer is available at campus computing sites and can access all
of the ads in this series
- Buying
of the President 2004 (Center for Public Integrity)
- Campaign contributions of major Republican and Democratic donors
- Personal finances of the candidates, including stock holdings
- Campaign
Finance Reform - Or Not?
- Academic guide to the campaign finance reform debate
- Identifies interest groups and current bills before Congress
- Campaign
Money
- Searchable data base of campaign contributions for Presidential and
Congressional candidates beginning in 2000
- Access by candidate, political action committee, or 527
organization
- Information is cross-listed in several ways
- Center for Responsive
Politics
- Non-partisan research group monitoring campaign reform
- Congressional campaign finance filings
- Personal
Finance Disclosure Reports on Congress and presidential
candidates are in pdf format and may be over 3 MB
- Open Secrets
- Lobby group campaign contributions to Members of Congress arranged by
industry and separately by member
- Web version in Adobe Acrobat format corresponds to paper version in
Documents Center (JK 1991 .M261)
- FECInfo (Tony
Raymond)
- Congressional and Presidential campaign contributions searchable by
name, state, Political Action Committee, or individual
- Special analyses include contributors by occupation or zip code and
candidates receiving the most out-of-state money
- User-friendly
interface
- Federal Election
Commission
- Summary receipts and disbursements of Presidential and all Congressional
candidates
- Image files of individual campaign committee reports beginning with
the 1997/98 cycle
- Detailed files with individual contributors for 1993/94 and 1995/96
must be downloaded
- Fundrace
2004
- Search by street address to determine the people in your zip code
giving more than $200 to a presidential candidate
- May also search by name of an individual
- Project Vote Smart
- Biographies, lobby group ratings, campaign receipts by Political
Action Committee subject groupings
- Candidate answers to the National Political
Awareness Test, a questionnaire on issues in the election
- Congress, Governors, President, and State Legislatures
- Campaigns and
Elections (Congressional Quarterly)
- Election news, political odds on the candidates
- Rate Your Rep for comparing voter views
against those of a Congressperson
- Political services and buyer's guide
- Some sections require password
- Full text of periodical available to University of Michigan
affiliates through Proquest
- Political
Resources Online
- Searchable list of over 3000 political products and services (e.g.
pollsters, posters)
- Approach by specialty, geography, party, and
name
- Calendar of upcoming events, including conventions, state primaries
- Web sites of federal, state, and local candidates
- VoteNet
- Political resources for the candidate
- Includes books, think tanks, political strategists and pollsters
- Issues research (abortion, affirmative action, gun control, etc)
- Commission on Presidential
Debates
- Text of the 2004 debates as they occur
- Text of debates for 1858, 1948, 1956, 1960, and every four years since 1976
- Text of 2000 debates, public opinion polls, and discussion groups
- Scheduled debates:
- Thursday, September 30
- Tuesday, October 5 (VP)
- Friday, October 8
- Wednesday, October 13
- C-Span
Debates
- Videos of the 2004 Presidential Debates as they occur
- Debate
2000
- Webcast of the Democratic Presidential debate (Jan. 5, 2000) and
the Republican (Jan. 6, 2000)
- Democratic
National Committee
- Text of Democratic candidate debates beginning with Albuquerque on Sept. 4, 2003
- Not all debates have been archived
- Washington
Post Debate Transcripts
- Carries Bush/Kerry debate transcripts but has not archived the Democratic
debates in Fall 2003
- 270 to Win
- Interactive map of electoral college for 2004
- Begin by viewing the map as neutral, with 2000 results, or imagined in 2004
(with red, blue and swing states)
- Toggle to change the colors and determine a strategy
- Election Day
Simulation (University of Washington)
- Game to teach the electoral process; may take 10 minutes to 6 hours
- Players choose candidate and campaign staff
- React to circumstances, issues, crises and geography
- Election results can be analyzed at the end of the game
- Game must be downloaded from web site to a hard drive
- President Forever
- Download a game that lets you run your own Presidential campaign
- United States
Electoral College (NARA)
- Electoral college laws and procedures
- State-by-state electoral college votes, 1789-2000
- Create your own electoral vote scenario
- This Land (Political
Cartoon)
- George Bush and John Kerry sing to "This Land is Made for You and Me"
- Created by the brothers Spiridellis
 Conservative Internet Sites
 Issue-Oriented Groups
Liberal Internet
Sites
- CQ
Congress Collection (UMich Only)
- Member search provides detailed political biographies, brief election statistics, and
lobby group ratings since the 97th Congress
- Additional interactive features: analyze voting alignments between members, their
state delegations, and party unit
- Analyze lobby group ratings of individuals Members and groups of Members
- League of
Conservation Voters
- Floor votes and LCV ratings on environmental issues beginning 1993
- Politics in America
- Printed directory located in the Documents Center (JK 1010.P76-Ref.)
- Arranged by state and district
- Political biography, lobby group ratings, major roll call votes
- Web version is the CQ
Congress Collection (UMich Only)
- Project
Vote Smart
- Votes by Members of Congress on major issues by subject with corresponding lobby group
ratings
- Voter
Information Service
- Ratings of House and Senate members by 25 lobby groups, 1989 to
present
- Arranged by State and District; listings can be confusing when
redistricting has occurred
- Requires membership as of 2004. UMich users should
access CQ Congress Collection Public access to some information from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Desk (Columbia School of
Journalism)
- Articles evaluating the accuracy of current election press coverage
- Links to campaign, campaign finance, and political web sites
- FactCheck (Univ of
Pennsylvania)
- Analyzes claims made by politicians in the news to determine their
accuracy
- New entries several times per week
- News
and Media Coverage (Open Directory)
- List of television and newspaper web sites with national and regional election
coverage
 Political Parties
Political Parties
Conventions
- Democratic National
Convention
- Boston, Massachusetts, July 26-29, 2004
- Videos, transcripts and pictures of the major speeches
- Democratic
Primary Scorecard (CNN)
- Running count of delegates committed to individual Democratic candidates by state
- Includes pledged by vote and unpledged (can decide on own)
- Click on state for more information about the primaries and caucuses
- Green Party of the U.S.A. National Convention
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 23-28, 2004
- Libertarian Party National
Convention
- Atlanta, Georgia, May 27-31, 2004
- Republican National
Convention
- August 30-September 2, 2004
- Speeches and videos of the week
Platforms
- 2004 Platforms
- 2000 Platforms
- Historic
Party Platforms (American Presidency Project)
- Full text of national party platforms, including major third parties, 1840-2000
- 2004
Elections Project (HHH Institute of Public Affairs)
- Presidential elections from the perspective of Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Iowa and North Dakota
- Presidential job approval ratings and public opinion polls on in-depth
issues for those states
- Presidential, Congressional and gubernatorial election results for the
four states since 1960
- Third party election statistics for 2002 (all states)
- Some issue briefs
- American
Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy
- Special survey conducted in 1999 by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations
- Charts and graphs on public opinion on national priorities, U.S. role
in resolving world problems, major foreign affairs issues
- Adobe Acrobat only
- Election
Day Exit Polls (Roper Center)
- Sells CDs of detailed election polls from the news organization
pools for 2000 (Voter News Service) and 2004 (Edison Media Research)
- Detailed microdata at the national and state level includes
Presidential and Senatorial choices, reasons for voting, and voter
characteristics (age, income, religion)
- Documents Center CD-ROM (Docs CD-ROM Do258) has data in ASCII and
SPSS formats for manipulation
- CD includes national and state summaries for both years in pdf (e.g.
religion
cross-tabulated
by preferred candidate but not religion by income by preferred
candidate
- Fourth
National Survey of Religion and Politics
- Data and analysis on how members of various religions voted for
President and why
- Gallup Organization
- Summary results of most current public opinion polls
- Gallup Poll, 1935 to present, also available in the Graduate Library Reference Room
as HN 90.P9 .G18
- General
Social Survey (ICPSR, NORC, UC-Berkeley)
- Annual survey since 1972 of public opinion and lifestyle
- Covers poverty, religion, contraceptive use, opinion on foreign affairs
- ICPSR site provides background on survey as well as printed
publications resulting from the survey
- Primary data extraction available from ICPSR and UC-Berkeley
- Computer-Assisted
Survey (UC-Berkeley)
- Data may be manipulated on-line
- Quick start instructions for the initiate:
- Choose Demonstration Survey Data Archive
- Choose the survey you would like and the "browse"
option; start
- Choose "Alphabetical Variable List"
- Choose your variables and write down their corresponding code names
- Go back to the original screen and choose "run crosstabulations;" start
- Imagine the output as a spreadsheet and type in the desired vertical
and horizontal code names; also choose output as statistics or
percentages
- Example of General Social Survey
- Percentage of Protestants who
strongly agree with death penalty
- In "run crosstabulations," type in "deathpen" as vertical
and "relig" as horizontal; check off percentaging as vertical;
run the table
- Example of American National
Election Studies
- Kaiser Family
Foundation Surveys
- Surveys on American values, sex, health care issues, politics, and morals
- Full text since 1996
- Most in pdf format
- Louis Harris
Associates
- Public opinion results of last two months
- Primarily government and economic questions
- National
Annenberg Election Survey
- Weekly reserves provide public opinion on election issues: stem cell
research, veteran service, assault weapons, candidate personalities, Iraq
- Data broken down by demographic characteristics
- National Council on Public
Opinion Polls
- Principles of disclosure
- 20 questions journalists should ask when reading poll results
- National Election Studies
(UMich-Center for Political Studies)
- Pew Research
Center
- Text and statistics of U.S. public opinion polls on politics, public
policy, and the press
- Issues covered since 1995 include the Presidential elections, TV news
viewership, Medicare reforms, campaign financing, churches, and the death
of Princess Diana
- Data on the public's attention to major news stories beginning 1986
- Archive of files since 1985 available upon request
- Political
Forecasting
- Monthly projection of the presidential vote based on several different
polling companies
- Begins May 2004
- Polling
Report
- Biweekly periodical with public opinion polls on
politics, business, and culture
- Examples include favorite actor of all time, the President's approval
rating
- Includes articles on public opinion trends by opinion analysts,
pollsters and academics
- Presidential
Job Performance (Roper Center)
- Public opinion polls on President Clinton's job
- Separate charts from Gallup, Yankelovich, ABC, NBC, and CBS rate the
President several times per year since 1993
- Gallup ratings include begin with 1938 and rate president's since
FDR
- Public
Agenda
- Nonpartisan, issue-oriented think tank
- Presents eighteen issues, including abortion, crime, gambling,
immigration, internet privacy, social security, and welfare
- For each issue provides background, links to lobby groups, a digest
of news stories, basic statistics, and a variety of state laws
- Numerous public opinion polls
- Real Clear
Politics
- Daily updates of the national and state polls
- Some news articles from both sides of the aisle
- Public
Opinion Quarterly (UMich and Subscribing Libraries Only)
- Full text of scholarly journal analyzing public opinion worldwide
- Searchable by keyword, author, journal, date
- Part of JSTOR project
- Full text also in Graduate Library as HM 261 .A1 P98 with a backup on
microfilm as FILM X375
- Roper
Center/Public Opinion
- Primarily information about the
Center
- Searchable catalogs of its public opinion polls, the Latin American
Survey Data Bank and the Japanese Survey Data Bank
- Roper polls can also be searched in Academic Universe
(UMich and Subscribing Libraries Only) in the
Reference/Polls and Surveys section
- Washington
Post
- Public opinion polls on public affairs since January 1997
- Subjects include Presidential popularity, sanctions toward Iraq,
violence in schools
- Descriptions supplemented by statistical tables
POLICY ISSUES
Public Access Sources
- Almanac of Policy
Issues
- Extensive web site on nine policy areas: criminal justice, culture and
society, economics, education, environment, government operations, health,
social welfare, and world affairs
- Each section is divided into 4-10 subtopics
- Provides a non-partisan back to the issues
- Links to articles on all sides of the subject as well as primary
documents and related government agencies, think tanks, and
organizations
- American
Voice
- Readable but scholarly articles on issues in the 2004 campaign from
both the conservative and liberal standpoints
- Issues include abortion, same-sex marriage, capital punishment, social
security, stem cell research
- Footnotes document many paragraphs
- Summaries of liberal and conservative viewpoints show in the
boxes
- America's
Debate
- Running debate on policy issues: constitution, social welfare, economics,
political campaigns
- Congress.org
- Issues section includes action alerts on legislation before Congress from a variety
of lobby groups
- Lists major Presidential candidates and their positions on Civilian Reserve, DC
representation, economy, education, environment, job creation, health care, national security, and tax policy
- FactCheck (Univ of
Pennsylvania)
- Analyzes claims made by politicians in the news to determine their
accuracy
- New entries several times per week
- Michigan
Quaker Peace Forum
- Positions of nine Democratic and one Republican Presidential candidate
and 10 ISSUES
- Detailed information on campaign finance, education, health care,
economy, and international relations
- On the
Issues
- Extensive web site analyzing positions of all Presidential candidates
as well as incumbent governors, senators and House members on a
breaktaking variety of campaign issues
- Relies on their voting records but also includes position
statements
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- Pull-down menu of 24 issues facing state government, including budgets, health care, energy, environment, taxes
- Includes news and articles on innovative projects
- Political Information
- Keyword index to politician and lobby group web sites
- Politics1
- Extensive listing of lobby group web sites arranged by issue
- Project Vote Smart
- Answers to the National Political Awareness Test by candidates for federal and state offices
- See also Candidate/Voter Issue Matching, Public Opinion Polls, and Platforms
Academic Sources
- Congressional Quarterly
(UMich and Subscribing Libraries Only)
- Weekly publication with non-partisan political analysis of Congress
- Identifies major legislation, the issues, and players
- Political party and election analysis
- Web coverage begins in 1983 and is searchable
- Separate index for roll call votes
beginning 1995
- Prior to 1983, use Congressional Quarterly Almanac,
(Doc.Cen. JK 1 .C756--Ref.)
- Congressional
Universe (UMich and Subscribing Libraries Only)
- CIS Index indexes Congressional committee
hearings by subject, committee, date, and witness since 1970
- Some hearings available in full text on the web
- All hearings in print or microfiche format in the Documents
Center
- Includes bills and bill status, 1989+, all laws since 1789,
Congressional Record for floor debates since 1985, and federal regulations
since 1980
- National
Journal (UMich and Subscribing Libraries Only)
- National Journal focuses on the politics of the Executive Branch with
some reference to current legislation
- Full text since 1977 available through the University of Michigan's
campus license to Congressional Universe
- Abortion
Statistics (Statistical Abstract of the United States)
- Annual publication with data compiled from various government and
non-government sources
- Section 2, includes abortion statistics
- The 2002 edition has tables 124-126 on abortion by age, race, state, and
length of gestation
- Partial Birth
Abortion Ban (THOMAS)
- S. 3 passed into law as PL 108-105 in October 2003
- Includes full text, floor debates, and roll call votes
- State Homicide
Laws (National Right to Life)
- State homicide laws recognizing an unborn's right to life
- Divided into three categories and subarranged by state
- Includes citation to the law
- U.S. Teenage
Pregnancy Statistics (Alan Guttmacher Institute)
- Teen pregnancies by outcome (births, abortions, miscarriages)
- Birth, abortion, and pregnancy rates per
1000 women
- Age distributions are 14 and under, 15-17, 18-19, and all under 20
- State abortion policies updated through 2002
- Budget and
Economic Outlook, Fiscal Year 2005 to 2014 (Congressional Budget Office)
- Projects yearly expenditures and revenues for the 10-year period, including a
1.9 trillion cumulative deficit by 2014
- Projections for unemployment remain at slightly over 5%
- Reported released in January 2004
- Economagic (Ted Bos)
- Time series of numerous economic indicators collected by the federal government
- Create a chart of S&P 500 total returns (stock market) using the Most Frequently Requested link
- Economic
Indicators (FRB-St.Louis)
- Gross Domestic Product, price, employment and monetary data
- Most time series begin in the 1940s; graphs and charts for past few years
- ASCII or various spreadsheet formats
- Economic
Report of the President
- Fourteen chapters discuss the President's view of the economy,
including solvency, manufacturing, health care, foreign trade, government
regulation, energy, and environment
- Detailed statistical tables of economic indicators
- Submitted to Congress, February 2004
- Federal
Budget FY 2005
- Budget and appendix can be downloaded by chapter or in their
entirety
- Receipts and expenditures available in several spreadsheet formats
- Historical Tables in one pdf file
- Fiscal Survey of the
States, Fall 2003 (NGA)
- Status of state budgets and budget cutting measures
- House Ways and
Means Committee
- Selected hearings on tax code revision
- Household
Economics (Census Bureau)
- Historical and current data on personal income and poverty by characteristics
- Data through 2002
- National Debt
- National Priorities Project
- Lobby group on federal budget priorites
- Data on previous budgets and the impact of current budget proposals
on state and local areas
- Subjects include jobs, education, hunger, health
care, taxes, and children
- Working
Poor Families Project (Annie B. Casey Foundation)
- Spreadsheets showing number of working and nonworking families by state who
earn less than the poverty level
- Data coverage is 2000-2002
- Apology
by Secretary of Education
- Apology for terming the National Education Association lobbyists a
"terrorist group" at the National Governors Association meeting
- Secretary Rod Paige made the remarks and apology on Feb. 23,
2004
- Education Commission of the States
- Database comparing state plans for implementing No Child Left Behind
- National
Governors Association
- Policy recommendations for implementing the NCLB act
- No Child Left
Behind (Education Dept)
- Program requires schools to test students on reading and math
- Parents of children in schools which fail to meet standards two years in a row can
send them to different schools at district expense
- Tutoring for children in schools behind standards for three years
- Web site has regulations, information for teachers and parents
- Link to a searchable database of individual School Results
- See Election 2000 for complete coverage
- Almanac of
American Politics (UMich Only)
- Presidential election results for each Congressional District is
found under the description of the district and its representative
- See 2002 edition for original 2000 district boundaries; see 2004
for the 2003 district boundaries
- Florida Ballots Project (National Opinion Research Center)
- Data tables on the recount project conducted of Florida ballots in 2001
- Florida
Ballots Study (CNN)
- Detailed methodology, including pictures
- Election reform efforts in Florida
- Supreme Court
- Supreme
Court Decision (SC - pdf)
- Complex decision rendered on December 12, 2000
- Reverses Florida manual recount due to lack of standards
- Remands decision to Florida Supreme Court to establish standards
- Says time has run out; December 12 is legitimate deadline
- Another
Copy (Cornell)
- HTML and PDF formats for per curiam decision, one concurrence, and
four dissents
- Another
Copy (CNN - pdf)
- Another
Copy (Court TV - pdf)
- Bush
Brief (C-Span)
- 57 pages in pdf
- Filed December 10, 2000
- Gore
Brief (C-Span)
- 58 pages in pdf
- Filed December 10, 2000
- Supreme
Court Hearing (CNN)
- Transcript of hearing held on December 11, 2000
- Another
Copy (C-Span)
- Voting Irregularities in
Florida during the 2000 Presidential Election (Civil Rights Commission)
- Links to documents and letters
- Initial report claims problem in Florida was disenfranchisement rather
than recount
- Copy
from GPO
- Energy Information Administration
- Access current and historic data on various energy sources, including production,
consumption, prices, and foreign trade
- Includes in-depth research reports, such as the August 2003 gasoline price spike
- Walker v. Cheney
- Chronology by GAO of its attempts to get names of participants on Vice President Cheney's
Energy Task Force
- Judge ultimately ruled in favor of Mr. Cheney and the General Accounting Office aborted
its attempt
- Clear Skies Initiative
- Global Warming
- Climate
Change Impacts on the United States
- Full text of report found under Overview
- PDF only; divided into chapters, some about 2 MB
- EPA
Global Warming Web Site
- Divided into climate, emissions, impact, and actions
- Easy-to-understand text with concrete examples and charts
- A visitor center gears the information for various users (wildlife
advocates, health professionals, citizens, meteorologists)
- United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changes
- Text of United Nations treaty and list of ratifications
- Text of documents from previous and forthcoming conventions
- Text of the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions
- Reports on the implementation of various agreements
- Bush
Statement on Constitutional Amendment
- Text of President's announcement supporting a constitutional ban on
gay marriage
- Made at the White House on February 24, 2004
- Constitution
of the United States Annotated
- Official text of the constitution and amendments annotated with
Supreme Court cases
- Only 33 amendments were approved by Congress and 27 ratified by the
states
- Text
of Unratified Amendments
- Constitutional Amendment
- H.J.Res
106
- Text of bill defeated in the House on Sept. 30, 2004
- Roll Call
Vote (227-Y; 186-N)
- S.J.Res.40
- Text of bill
- Motion to proceed with consideration withdrawn on July 15, 2004
- Defense
of Marriage Act
- Federal legislation passed in 1996 describing marriage as involving
one man and one woman
- PL 104-199; H.R. 3396
- Goodridge
v. Dept. of Public Health (Mass Supreme Court)
- Text of Massachusetts Supreme Court decision on Nov. 18, 2003
requiring state to permit gay marriages by May 2004
- Advisory
Opinion to State Senate
- Opinion dated Feb. 3, 2004 that clarifies intent: gay marriage
and rather than civil unions required by May 2004 in Massachusetts
- Another Copy of Draft
Opinion
- Lawrence
v. Texas
- Supreme Court Decision of June 26, 2002 outlawing sodomy ban in
Texas
- Marriage Laws by State
- Human
Rights Campaign
- State-by-state laws on same sex marriage, adoption, custody,
non-discrimination, sodomy, and surrogacy
- Also includes pending legislation and ballot proposals
- Marriage Laws
State-by-State (Family Research Council)
- Quotes laws of those states which have defined marriage as a man-woman
relationship
- Polling
Report
- Public opinion polls on a gay marriage amendment to the U.S.
Constitution and state civil union laws
- Vermont
Guide to Civil Unions
- Step-by-step buide to applying for a civil union certificate
- Frequently-asked questions
- Year
After Iraq War (Pew Research Center)
- Public opinion poll of U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia,
Morocco, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan on all aspects of Iraq War and relations
with U.S.
- Covers opinions at various dates between April 2002 and March 2004
- Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction, effectiveness of war on terrorism,
which agency best to reconstruct Iraq
- Favorability ratings of Bush, Blair, Annan and Bin Laden
- Includes Christian and Muslim breakdowns
- Assault Weapons
Ban
- Text of Public Law 103-322, Title IX, passed 1994
- Expired on September 13, 2004
- Center for the
Prevention of Handgun Violence
- Advocacy group headed by Sarah Brady
- State gun control laws, including child access laws and waiting
periods
- National gun law loopholes and proposed legislation
- Firearm facts
- Criminal
Victimization, 2003 (BJS)
- Government report showing significant drop in crime since 1994, year
of assault weapons ban
- Gun Control v. Gun
Rights (Open Secrets)
- This 2004 article analyzes the campaign contributions of the gun
rights v. gun control groups
- Table of gun rights votes arranged by name of Congressman with the
campaign contributions received from gun rights groups and his/her vote
with the guns rights position
- National
Annenberg Election Survey
- Survey released on April 23, 2004 shows 2/3 of American public wants assault
weapons ban extended
- Includes 57% of gun-owning households and 32% of National Rifle Association
members
- National Rifle Association
- Federal and state laws and firearms
- Proposed federal legislation on guns
- Statements on Smith and Wesson agreement
- Elections
2004 (Kaiser Network)
- Candidate positions on AIDs, stem cell research, health care access issues,
women, Medicare and SCHIP
- Numerous public opinion polls on health care
- Medicare
- Medicare
Trustees Report
- 2004 report shows that the trust fund will dissipate by 2019
- Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage
- Public Law 108-173
- Text of the medicare prescription drug law passed by Congress in December 2003
- Originally H.R. 1, 108th Congress
- Includes legislative history, amendments, speeches in the Congressional Record, and
roll call votes
- CQ Weekly
Report (UMich Only)
- Search for the politics of passage
- A summary of provisions appears in the Jan. 24, 2004 issue, p. 238
- AARP Prescription Drugs
- Description of the new law, a Medicare benefits calculator, and the reason AARP supported the bill
- Next step campaign to lower the cost of prescription drugs
- Families
USA (Families USA)
- Numerous reports on the cost of prescription drugs
- Organization's lobby efforts
- House
of
Representatives Prescription Drug Task Force
- Numerous reports and studies on cost of prescription drugs in the
U.S. versus foreign countries, cost to seniors as opposed to HMOs, and
drug company profits
- Authors include the Congressional Research Service and lobby groups
- Bush:
New Medicare Price Tag Means "Tough Choices" (CNN)
- News report dated January 30, 2004
- OMB estimates Medicare prescription drug package to cost $535 billion
rather than CBO's estimate of $400 billion over 10 years
- Health Insurance
- Census
Bureau
- Longitudinal and cross-sectional health insurance statistics
by state and various socioeconomic characteristics
- Data covers 1987-2002
- Losing
Health Insurance (Families USA)
- Investigative report finds 675,000 people lost health insurance
coverage in 1997 as direct result of welfare reform
- Minority children most likely to lack coverage
- State Children's Health
Insurance
Program (HCFA)
- Provides grants to states for providing health insurance to poorer
children under medicaid
- State statistics on enrollment
- Laws, regulations, and individual state plans
- Uninsured in
America (PBS News Hour)
- National survey results (pdf format) of public perceptions of the
numbers and causes for people without health insurance coverage
- Surveys of the uninsured about the effects and problems they encounter
- Pop-up menus with a chronology of health insurance in America,
individual state requirements for child health coverage, and the percent
of non-elderly who are uninsured
- Tracking Federal
Homeland Security Funds Sent to the 50 State Governments
- Survey of 215 cities shows percentage which have not received funds for anti-terrorism
programs in FY 2003 and FY 2004
- Report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, dated January 2004
- USA
Patriot Act (EPIC)
- Analysis of the act's provisions
- News stories on challenge to the act
- Numerous government and private association provisions on the act, including its secrecy,
search-and-seizure, and wiretap provisions
- See complete Documents Center coverage in Iraq War
Debate
- Casualties
- Comprehensive
Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq's WMD (CIA)
- Concludes that Iraq had no secret cache of Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Saddam's capacity to create them weakened after 1991
- Written by Charles Duelfer of the Iraq Survey Group
- Posted to the web on October 6, 2004 but
too large to be usable
- Summary
(readable)
- Prepared
Testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on October 6,
2004
- University of Michigan Copy of
Duelfer Report
- Cost of War in
Iraq
- Running cost of the Iraq war in the United States as a whole
- May be broken down by per person or per household
- Compares war costs with the cost of hiring teachers, granting college
scholarships, public housing, children's health, and public
education
- Iraq
Arms Inspector Casts Doubt on WMD Claims
- Tape of National Public Radio Interview with David Kay aired on January 25, 2004
- Kay resigned from WMD hunt
- No war-ready WMD found although there may have been some movement of
weapons to Syria
- Audio for Real Player or Windows Media Player
- For transcript, University of Michigan affiliates should use
Academic
Universe; Guided News Search/News Transcripts/NPR; then
search for Kay and Iraq in headline on Jan. 25, 2004
- His testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Jan. 28,
2004 is only available electronically through C-Span using RealPlayer
- Congressional
Resolution - 2002
- Daschle
Hopes to Limit Iraq Resolution (CNN)
- Senate Majority Tom Daschle wants to limit war powers to eliminating Iraq's
Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Believes broader resolution sets a precedent for other countries
- Article also describes Ted Kennedy's views
- Based on interviews conducted October 6, 2002
- H.J.R.
114 - BILL PASSED BY
CONGRESS
- Bill agreement between Dennis Hastert, Dick Gephardt, and President
Bush
- S. J. Res
45
- Resolution authorizing the President's use of force in Iraq
- Introduced by Tom Daschle and Trent Lott on September 26, 2002
- S. J. Res.
46
- Senate Debate
- Congressional
Record (Oct. 4, 2002, pp. 9933-9938)
- Congressional
Record (Oct. 7, 2002, pp. S60006-S60031)
- Congressional
Record (Oct. 8, 2002, pp. S60007-S60107)
- Congressional
Record (Oct. 9, 2002, pp. S60145-S60217)
- Congressional
Record (Oct. 10, 2002, pp. S60233-60272)
- Congressional
Record (Oct. 10, 2002, p. 60342)
- Senate
Roll Call Vote on HJR 114
- Vote conducted in the wee hours of October 11, 2002, 77-23
- Arranged by Senator, yea or nay, and state
- House Debate
- Iraq
Liberation Act - 1998
- Provides up to $97 Million in funding to support a transition
government in Iraq
- H.R. 4655, Public Law 105-338 (signed Oct. 31, 1998)
- Iraqi
Special Weapons Guide (Global Security)
- Extensive descriptions of Iraq's chemical, biological, and nuclear
weapons programs
- List of suspected chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons sites in Iraq, including
geographic coordinates
- Iraqi intelligence and deception activities
- Links to United Nations resolutions and weapons inspection reports
- Iraq's
Weapons of Mass Destruction (CIA)
- Concludes that Iraq had reconstituted chemical and biological weapons facilities
- Iraq is one to five years away from having nuclear capability
- Lists previous UN Security Council Resolutions and Iraq's actions
- Lists chemical agents and previous use on Iranians and Kurds
- Maps of chemical, biological, nuclear and ballistic facilities
- Iraq's
Weapons of Mass Destruction: Assessment by the British
Government
- Fifty-five page report (pdf) presented by Prime Minister Tony Blair on
September 24, 2002
- Claims Iraq can launch WPM within 45 minutes of Saddam Hussein's
order
- Niger Uranium
- State of the Union
Message
- President Bush's message to Congress on January 28, 2003
- Use "find" key and the keyword "uranium" to find the passage on
Hussein's attempt to buy uranium from Africa
- CIA
Mea Culpa
- Press release by George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence, on
July 11, 2003
- Takes blame for approving statement of Iraq's uranium purchase bid
appearing in the State of the Union message
- Another Copy
- Over
340 Tons of High Explosives Missing From Iraq
- UN press release of October 25, 2004
- Report from IAEA head Mohammed ElBaradei that explosives lost over
past year through theft and looting
- President
Bush's Speech to the United Nations (2004)
- Speech to General Assembly on September 21, 2004 suggesting a Democracy
Fund
- United
Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection
Commission (UNMOVIC)
- Body replaced UNSCOM in 1999 and is involved with 2002 inspection
negotiations
- Web site includes quarterly reports and historic documents
- United States Central
Command
- Transcripts of daily press briefings on the war
- Reports of special investigations
- Links to military magazines and various news sources
- Victory in Iraq (House Republicans)
- Accomplishments of the Iraq War
- Why America is safer
- Tribute to the troops
- Woodward's Plan of Attack
- Sixty
Minutes Interview (CBS)
- Extensive experts and videos of CBS interview with Washington Post
reporter Bob Woodward on April 18, 2004
- His book, Plan of Attack, says the Bush Administration
began planning for the Iraq War shortly after 9/11/2001
- Cheney's idea, Bush's Christian mission, Colin Powell not told, deal
with Saudi Arabia to reduce gas prices in Fall 2004
Job
Outsourcing
Employment
- Bureau of
Labor
Statistics
- Detailed national, state, and local employment and unemployment rates
- Data on displaced workers by cause
- Job Losses and
Gains appear Business Employment Dynamics section of
its web site
- Local Employment
Dynamics (Census Bureau)
- Quarterly data since 1997 on employment, job creation, job loss, and
monthly earnings
- Geography: counties and large cities in 25 states (not Michigan)
- Links to data sources for low wage work, transportation, pensions, and
productivity
Salaries
- Real
Earnings (BLS)
- Archived press releases since 1994 showing a change in real earnings
(salary v. inflation)
- George Bush
- John Kerry
- Military
Service Record
- Chronology of military service
- PDF copies of awards, training, payments, and discharge
- Testimony Against the War in Vietnam
- John Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
April 22, 1971 representing Vietnam Veterans Against the War
- Hearing title: Legislative Proposals Relating to the War in
Southeast Asia, p. 180-210
- SUDOCS Number: Y4.F76/2:As4/13; CIS Microfiche Number 1971 S381-18;
UMich Call number: JX 1405 .A3 1971b (Buhr)
- Copy of
Prepared Statement
- George W. Bush
- John Edwards
- Alan Greenspan
- John Kerry
- Ralph Nader
- Polling
Report
- Public opinion polls on social security with the most recent first
- Primarily covers future availability of Social Security and whether
private accounts should be develo
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