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"The most important political office is that of the private citizen." ~Louis D. Brandeis
Election 2008 is in full swing! Ocean County Library guides you through the political process with the latest headlines and opinions, information for voter registration, and background to elections past and present. Browse through our print collection of reference books, which define and explain American government and elections. For the most up-to-date news go online; we’ve discovered some great sites that will put you in the know, right along with Beltway insiders and political pundits, in no time.
REFERENCE BOOKS (back to top)
Maps of local congressional districts: 109th Congressional District
The Almanac of American Politics – a great source of information about the political landscape of all 50 states with information on governors, senators and House representatives from each state
CQ Almanac Plus – brief entries of top stories about Congress, votes by representatives and important issues
CQ Weekly – an excellent digest of political information
Elections A to Z – dictionary, encyclopedia and general reference tool about American government
Political Parties in America – details contemporary and historical parties in the United States
Safire’s New Political Dictionary – definitions of political terms, jargon and current events
The United States Government Manual – the best way to find addresses and telephone numbers for any office in the federal government
Don’t forget to use the Library’s indexes to magazine and newspaper articles.
VOTER REGISTRATION (back to top)
The State of New Jersey allows for easy voter registration in person or with online forms. A timeline informs voters of important registration and election dates. Access the state’s election home page here for voter registration applications. If you are unable to vote at your polling station on Election Day, you can vote absentee by filling out this absentee ballot application and sending it to the address listed on the form. The Ocean County clerk’s office also lists all important election information with links to additional voter forms and applications, important election dates, and archives from past elections.
New Jersey has 13 Congressional Districts. Ocean County is in districts 3 and 4.
- Tuesday, 15 January 2008: last day to register to vote in Presidential Primary
- Note: A New Jersey voter unaffiliated with a political party can vote in the primaries. When going to the polling station, tell the election workers which political party’s election you want to vote in, and you’ll be able to vote in that primary.
- Tuesday, 5 February 2008: New Jersey presidential primary
CAMPAIGN INFORMATION (back to top)
Commission on Presidential Debates
“The Commission on Presidential Debates was established in 1987 to ensure that debates, as a permanent part of every general election, provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners. The organization, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation, sponsored all the general election debates in 1988, 1992, and 1996.” When, where, why and just about every other question about the Presidential Debates is answered here.
C-SPAN’S Campaign 2008
Find information about presidential, gubernatorial, Senate and Congressional candidates from C-Span, cable’s premier political source. The site includes archives of past elections and a wealth of information about the current campaign. The site includes primary dates across the country and videos, which include candidates’ speeches, interviews and campaign events. The site also has access to an archive of current and past campaign ads, candidate speeches and interviews, and lesson plans.
Project Vote Smart
Project Vote Smart is a national library of factual information on over 13,000 candidates for public office, including President, Governor, Congress and State Legislature. Provides candidates’ and elected officials’ biographical information, issue positions and voting records. Browse the full text of hundreds of candidate speeches, issue statements and position papers.
Wikipedia
Far from static, like traditional print encyclopedias, Wikipedia provides both updated information as well as deep, unbiased reporting about the 2008 elections. Immediately upon entering the site, readers will see a map of the United States showing each state’s number of electoral votes. Scroll down to explore the myriad of topics listed on the site, including campaign finance, which states are considered battleground states and candidates’ official websites. Read about the (already long) history of this election year in the “Early Stages” section of the page.
You Choose on YouTube
Video central for the 2008 election year. Watch candidates’ videos from their own YouTube pages. Learn more through video about important issues and candidates’ positions, and watch simulcast TV/internet debates.
ELECTION NEWS (back to top)
BBC News Online’s Vote USA 2008
For an international perspective on Election 2008, see what our cousins across the pond are saying. Don’t miss the Q&A portion of the site for a basic overview of the road to Election Day.
CNN Politics
CNN provides full coverage of the presidential election with breaking news. It includes excellent links to exit polls and primary results, a campaign calendar, candidate biographies, polls and important stories from the early months of the campaign.
CQ Politics
Daily political trivia coupled with explanations of primaries and caucuses make Congressional Quarterly a must-see site. Read historical perspectives of past elections and coverage of important issues and gubernatorial, Senate, House and presidential campaigns here. Keep up-to-date with the latest poll numbers found in CQ’s political toolkit.
The Hill
The Hill, the independent newspaper that covers Capitol Hill and noted for original reporting on politics and fund raising, has a broad collection of links for the presidential, senatorial and Congressional races. Look to the Hill to see which lawmakers are endorsing which presidential candidates.
Politico
Find fantastic graphics and readable snippets about candidates here. A brightly colored map of the United States provides links to each state’s primary schedule and lists all 50 governors, 100 U.S. senators and the number of representatives from every state, too. Politico has links to newspapers from battleground states, so you can keep up-to-date with the news where it’s being made! For some comic relief from more serious coverage, check out restaurants along the campaign trail.
President Polls 2008
If you’re a numbers junkie, then you’ll definitely want to check out this site. Created by an engineer, President Polls 2008 gathers poll numbers from reliable sources (polling companies, newspapers) for easy access. Click a candidate’s name to track his/her poll numbers by pollster and by state.
USA Today Politics: Campaign 2008
Headlines, primary results and a national poll tracker with candidates’ standings by state, from America’s national newspaper.
The Washington Post 2008 Presidential Candidates
Coverage from the most political city in America. The Post details each candidate with full campaign coverage. Take an interactive quiz to see which candidate best aligns with your political beliefs.
Yahoo! Election 08
Yahoo! pulls everything together in this up-to-the-minute page. View the latest news stories, Web sites, audio and video clips with links to editorials, and newspaper and magazine articles.
You Decide 2008
Fox News’ up-to-the-minute website profiles presidential candidates and provides a timeline of important dates right through November 4th. Read blogs written by Fox reporters, and visit this page to vote for the issue that concerns you most this election year.
THE CANDIDATES (back to top)
Links to the Candidates
This page gives you easy access to the Web sites of all of the major candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Also includes links to political parties and voting information sites.
CAMPAIGN FINANCES (back to top)
Open Secrets
Billing itself as "the online source for money in politics data", this site reveals the money behind the candidates, including the total amount raised by candidates and private contributions by geography and top contributors.
Federal Elections Commission (FEC)
This government site provides nonpartisan information about campaign contributions, compliance with campaign finance laws and enforcement.
ABOUT THE PRESIDENCY (back to top)
In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take.
~Adlai Stevenson, 1952
American Presidents
Based on the C-Span television series about U.S. presidents, this site extends the program with biographical facts, reference material and biographical facts of each president from George Washington to George H.W. Bush.
POTUS: Presidents of the United States
Comprehensive site on the American Presidency includes biographies, speeches and writings, election results, odd facts and Presidency highlights from the Internet Public Library.
Presidential Libraries
The National Archives oversees 12 presidential libraries, part museums and part archives of presidents and their official papers from their time in Office. The first president to have a library is Herbert Hoover, and there is a presidential library for every president since. Presidential libraries are founded after a president has completed his term(s) in office.
United States Electoral College
When you vote for president, you’re actually voting for electors who pledge to vote for your chosen candidate. Depending on the state, electors are not required to vote for the candidate the popular voter wanted elected.
The Electoral College dates back to a compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention. Some convention delegates wanted the president to be elected by popular vote, some wanted the president to be elected by Congress and others wanted the president elected by the states.
The eventual compromise is recognized in Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution: “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.”
The number of electors is equal to the number of U.S. Senators and representatives from each state. New Jersey, for instance, has 15 electors voting for president.
LOCAL PARTY SITES (back to top)
New Jersey Republican Party
This site includes contact information for Republican county organizations across New Jersey. The current Ocean County GOP page is currently down, but you can find local contact information here.
Ocean County Democratic Party
Find information on major Democratic Party office holders and contact information for local party members.
NEW JERSEY SENATE & OCEAN COUNTY HOUSE RACES (back to top)
Here are the official campaign Web sites for the leading major-party New Jersey candidates for the United States Senate. For a full list of New Jersey statewide races, check C-Span.
Anne Evans Estabrook (R)
Frank Lautenberg (D, incumbent)
Joe Pennacchio (R) (no official website currently available)
AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES (back to top)
DEMOCRATS
GREEN PARTY
LIBERTARIAN PARTY
REPUBLICANS
A comprehensive list of contemporary and historical American political parties.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (back to top)
1. Where can I find the Web sites of the candidates?
2. Where can I find information about registering to vote?
3. How about voting with an absentee ballot?
4. Where can I find a list of the major primaries and other upcoming events in the campaign?
5. What is a good Web site for recent political news about the campaign?
6. Where can I find a list of campaign contributors?
1. Where can I find the Web sites of the candidates?
C-Span’s Campaign 2008 lists presidential candidates and their web sites.
2. Where can I find information about registering to vote?
For Ocean County residents, print out the registration form from the County Clerk’s Web site and mail it to the address listed. In New Jersey, the deadline to register in the Tuesday, 5 February 2008 primary election is Tuesday, 15 January 2008. The deadline to register for the 2008 general election held on Tuesday, 4 November 2008 is Tuesday, 14 October 2008. If you’re visiting our Web site from outside of Ocean County, New Jersey, try Rock the Vote for nationwide voter registration information.
3. How about voting with an absentee ballot?
For Ocean County residents, print out the request for a civilian absentee ballot from the Ocean County Clerk’s Web site and mail it to the address listed. (For other absentee ballots, the Clerk’s office provides other forms.)
4. Where can I find a list of the major primaries and other upcoming events in the campaign?
Visit the Congressional Quarterly’s list of primaries and campaign maps. C-Span’s campaign 2008 website also provides a countdown to major election events.
5. What is a good Web site for recent political news about the campaign?
Yahoo’s Election08 is updated throughout the day with the latest news and opinions. This site links to major newspapers, TV stations, magazines and political websites.
6. Where can I find a list of campaign contributors?
Visit Opensecrets.org, which lists all contributions over $200 to presidential campaigns from data reported to the Federal Election Commission. Many candidates are beginning to list contributions within a short time of receiving them and long before they have to be reported to the FEC. Try individual campaign web sites for more information.
Got
questions? We have answers!
Researched and Compiled by B. Cronin & C. Rodas.
Additional research and updates by V. Haeder.
Copyright Disclaimer. All rights reserved. Credits.
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