Episode 74: Laura's Mid-term Election Guide

In this episode, we learn about why the 2018 midterms are so important, how to be an informed voter, and what all we can do to get out the vote for 2018. Laura walks us through her strategy and approach to researching candidates and ballot measures. We also talk about reasonable shortcuts to take if you don’t have the time or inclination to do the research yourself.

In this episode, we learn about why the 2018 midterms are so important, how to be an informed voter, and what all we can do to get out the vote for 2018. Laura walks us through her strategy and approach to researching candidates and ballot measures. We also talk about reasonable shortcuts to take if you don’t have the time or inclination to do the research yourself.

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Gerrymandering, explained - VoxThe Gerrymandering Project – FiveThirtyEightIconic Dodge City moves its only polling place outside town.53,000 mostly Black voters’ registrations are on hold due to Georgia’s Exact Match law.Save My State | #VoteSaveAmerica — Check to see if you are registered and view your local ballot. Also has voter information for every state like registration deadlines, polling booth locations, and everything on a state’s ballot. This is a good way to help an out-of-state friend vote! Uber and Lyft will [MAYBE] help you find your polling place on Election Day - The Verge — We are skeptical about how dedicated Uber and Lyft drivers (not to mention their respective companies) are in this endeavor. Voter Information: Varied State Approaches — Shows how well (or badly) each state prepares and educates its citizens for voting. Fighting Hate | Southern Poverty Law Center — The SPLC is the premier U.S. non-profit organization monitoring the activities of domestic hate groups and other extremists – including the Ku Klux Klan, the neo-Nazi movement, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, black separatists, antigovernment militias, Christian Identity adherents and others.Mission | OpenSecrets — Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. OUR VISION is for Americans to be empowered by access to clear and unbiased information about money’s role in politics and policy and to use that knowledge to strengthen our democracy. OUR MISSION is to produce and disseminate peerless data and analysis on money in politics to inform and engage Americans, champion transparency, and expose disproportionate or undue influence on public policy.Mission & History - FollowTheMoney.org — The non-partisan Institute researches and archives a 50-state federal/state database of contributions documenting $100+ billion, plus more than 2 million state lobbyist-client relationships that are registered annually. Recent expansions include selected local-level data, collecting independent spending reports for federal campaigns and in 31 states, and lobbying spending in 20 states.Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System — Find your candidates' bio, voting record, ratings by special interest groups (like, their NRA "grade"), who is funding them, and more.Vote Informed on the Entire Ballot - BallotReady — Enter your address and this site (and app) will collate as much info as they can from across the web, to give you a sample ballot with every measure and candidate summarized. You can print your sample ballot "cheat sheet" and take it with you to the polls!Oregon Secretary of State: Voting & Elections — Oregon's official website for all election & voting related activities. It is a PITA to use but at least it exists! ORESTAR (Oregon Elections System for Tracking and Reporting) is located here.