[LiteraryLark]

For those who live in the US, it's freaking hard to know who to vote for in the upcoming elections. Who's lying, who's honest, it seems like both parties won't do us any good. This is the first year I'll be able to vote for a President, and not only do I want to vote, I want to vote for the RIGHT person.

My parents don't care who I vote for, they really don't like voting themselves. Personally, I don't see any candidate on either side that is good enough to run a country and I don't want to see someone I vote for ruin our country if they turn out to be horrible. My grandparents can be nutty, almost religious about who they vote for. Every night they watch the news, every night they will spend hours watching the debates and anything about the candidates. And yet, despite with how obsessive they can be, they gave me the best advice: WATCH THE NEWS. LISTEN TO THE TALK SHOWS. BE INFORMED.

I want to be an informed voter. If I vote, I want to dedicate my time enough to know that, no matter who I vote for, I am an informed voter and I based my decision on research, facts, and not swinged by Facebook, the media, or what my family and friends think.

So here is my question: This is NOT a debate on upcoming or past candidates. I certainly would not want to hear your opinions on that. What I would like to know is...what is the best way to do research on a candidate? My grandparents say to listen to their radio show. I've tried listening to it, but from a few minutes in the car with them it sounds horrible. Lots of people who enjoy listening to themselves argue. Both parties do it, they argue just to argue and point fingers without talking about what really matters.

So how DO I research candidates from both parties without all the garbage? Just the facts! How do I get JUST THE FACTS! on candidates without any opinion whatsoever? It's so hard to find just that. I want to be able to make an informed decision. This is my country gosh darn it and I want to make a good decision, even if it's against my grandparents or my parents wishes. I want to do what's right for my country and voting is half the battle, even if my candidate doesn't get picked, I just want to be able to say "I voted. I did my research, I felt that he was the best person, so I voted for this guy."

So.......where do I find unbiased information on these candidates so I can make an informed decision? :O

Forget listening to them, most of that is just fantasy puff. Saying you'll do something and getting it done are two different things.

If I was into politics, I'd research each of the candidates background and look at their track records to see how they voted on past legislation. You can get a general feel for the type of person they are. I'd look for scandals and improper behavior. I would see how respectful of law, family, and fellows the candidate is. I'd check out his commitment and involvement with the people he serves.

Like you said, do the research and vote. As far as bias, I can see beyond it. Just have to do a lot of fact checking.

In the UK, which I appreciate is completely different, each party holds an annual conference and publishes its policy positions on e.g. health, education etc. If they do that in the US, that might be a good place to look. Or if you live near a university, how about finding out if they have a politics department and asking someone there? I've found academics very helpful.

If they are currently in an elected office or have held office before you can look here
https://www.congress.gov/
and here
https://votesmart.org/
and check their voting record on bills and what bills they may have sponsored and see if you agree with the way they voted.
You can look here
https://www.opensecrets.org/
and here
SourceWatch
to find out who they swing with and who bankrolls their campaign.

The single most important thing you can do is to become familiar with the issues that concern you and compare your position to the candidates position.
And I mean really familiar.
Pay no attention to talk shows until you do this.
By talk shows I assume you mean Chris Matthews or Bill O'Reilly type shows. And then be very very careful because those people are in those jobs because they are have very persuasive personalities.
If you mean the Sunday talking heads shows then just skip it.
Indy/alt media will tell you a lot more than the big corporate news media will. Watching the big news will only tell you what happened, who said what and not much else. And they are only going to tell you what they think you might want to know... and it's all very superficial.

[growlycat]

The problem is, candidates all say a lot but it doesn't always match their actions. You can listen to speeches and read their books but that only tells you how they want to be perceived.

Looking at their past voting records in lower offices tells you how they actually sided on issues when it came down to it.

I can see examples of this on both sides. I'm no fan of Jeb Bush but I think the only reason he is using nasty rhetoric about Mexican immigrants is because candidates like Trump are so loud about it. I think if you were to look at Jeb's record as governor I don't think you would see lots of initiatives involving deportation.

And as a democrat I see BS on my side too. In one of Obama's books he wrote about his heart swelling at a church service. It came off as very false--everything else I've read about him leads me to believe he is a closeted atheist . I am an Obama supporter and Atheist myself but it annoys me that people hide who they are because it isn't politically popular.

That's probably more than what you are asking

[Nammu]

To know who to vote for you need to know
how the government works, what in can and can not do.
What your values are
Who can effect the changes you would like to see.
If a candidate is claiming to change fundamental laws it is unlikely to happen in our form of government. The president has a lot of power but on their own they can not change laws. Even when one party dominates how much ch they can do is limited. So the difference between the promises and whether or not that promise can be realistically be effected might be a good evaluation standard.

[DeterminedSlacker]

Just pick the one with the best hair, they're all basically the same anyway considering they're all financed by the same people. Kidding of course...kinda.

[LiteraryLark]

Originally Posted by George H.

If they are currently in an elected office or have held office before you can look here
https://www.congress.gov/
and here
https://votesmart.org/
and check their voting record on bills and what bills they may have sponsored and see if you agree with the way they voted.
You can look here
https://www.opensecrets.org/
and here
SourceWatch
to find out who they swing with and who bankrolls their campaign.

The single most important thing you can do is to become familiar with the issues that concern you and compare your position to the candidates position.
And I mean really familiar.
Pay no attention to talk shows until you do this.
By talk shows I assume you mean Chris Matthews or Bill O'Reilly type shows. And then be very very careful because those people are in those jobs because they are have very persuasive personalities.
If you mean the Sunday talking heads shows then just skip it.
Indy/alt media will tell you a lot more than the big corporate news media will. Watching the big news will only tell you what happened, who said what and not much else. And they are only going to tell you what they think you might want to know... and it's all very superficial.

I'll definitely look into those, thanks!

You always pull through for me, Georgie

I'm not in the US but I wish I was able to vote. As a neighbour of the USA, the results of the American election very much affects what happens to Canada and it frightens me greatly that a certain frontrunner might get in. I lose sleep at night over the idea they will be making decisions for the greatest democracy in - and hence - the world.

[FireIsland123]

For most of my adult life I worked for politicians - both on their campaigns and in government. My advice? Tune it all out. Why? One of the most effective campaign strategies is to exploit people's fears. Watch a debate. Listen to talk radio. All you hear is how bad things are and how worse they are going to be - unless you vote for (insert candidate name here.) I know be an informed voter is the right thing to do. But for me, tuning it out has been a big part of my recovery. I guess the question you need to ask after listening to a debate is "Do I feel better of worse about things?" I prefer to just avoid it all the best I can (listening to classical music instead.)