• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Independent Voter News
  • Campaign Finance
  • Civic Ed
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Events
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Newsletter>
  3. newsletter>

Get to know the candidates on your ballot

The Fulcrum
November 01, 2022



Voter prep: Tools for selecting the right candidates for you

If you watch the NFL or the MLB playoffs (or TV in general), you probably know some of the latest political ads by heart. Many of them are full of disinformation and can do some serious damage to democracy. Candidates and political organizations keep using them because they are effective – but they may not tell you much about the candidates themselves.

And with one week left to vote, it’s time to get serious about studying the people on your ballot beyond their party ID.

To that end, our own Kristin Shiuey has pulled together some nonpartisan resources that can help you make the decisions that will impact federal, state and local policymaking for years to come.

  • Guides.vote pulls together federal and statewide candidates’ positions on some of the most divisive issues, including abortion and the economy.
  • Vote411 invites candidates up and down the ballot offer their position, in their own words, on some of the key issues facing voters in those jurisdictions.
  • Ballotpedia provides biographical information on candidates.
  • The Federal Election Commission allows anyone to search through fundraising data to see who is donating – and who is receiving – campaign funds.
  • And OpenSecrets makes it possible to go even deeper into the fundraising data, to see which political organizations are supporting candidates.

Don’t just vote along party lines. Get educated about your ballot.

Read more.

The state of voting

The Voting Rights Lab focused on events in Arizona and Nevada in its recap of last week’s voting rights activity, with a ruling on armed surveillance of ballot drop boxes drawing the most notice.

Two separate lawsuits have been filed to prevent armed individuals from monitoring ballot drop boxes in Arizona. One judge denied the request on First Amendment grounds. While the judge handling the other case has not yet ruled, the defendants said they would stop the practice, with plaintiffs claiming it is a form of voter intimidation.

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that officials in Nye County may not livestream the counting of ballots prior to Election Day. And back in Arizona, the attorney general and secretary of state are at odds of a hand count of all ballots in Cochise County.

Read more.

Additional reading: Justice Department says ‘vigilante ballot security efforts’ in Arizona are likely illegal

Halloween podcast: Trick or treat, or tried-and-true talking point

If it's Halloween, it's time for politicians to include ghosts and goblins and ghouls in their rhetoric. It's an ageless formula for campaign season: The calendar nears Oct. 31 and out come all manner of menacing metaphors, mentions of masks and costumes, and a cacophony of cringeworthy Halloween language.

What have been the scariest Halloween mentions in politics? Which have been the silliest? And which Senate candidate said in an ad: "I'm not a witch"? C-SPAN’S “The Weekly” has all the answers for you.

Listen.

Also in the news

Explainer: How new U.S. laws could trip up voters in the midterm elections (Reuters)

Ohio seeks to become the latest state to ban noncitizen voting (PBS)

Early voters lament high prices and disunity, yet vote for opposite sides (The Washington Post)

Lessons from pro-Trump election breaches across America (Axios)

Upcoming events

Conversation 101 - The Great Reset - Nov. 1

How Independent Voters Can Save American Democracy - Open Primaries - Nov. 1

Democracy Happy Hour - Fix Democracy First - Nov. 2

Preserving Democracy: Information Disorder and the 2022 Midterm Elections - 92nd Street Y - Nov. 3

newsletter

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Confirm that you are not a bot.
×
Follow

Support Democracy Journalism; Join The Fulcrum

The Fulcrum daily platform is where insiders and outsiders to politics are informed, meet, talk, and act to repair our democracy and make it live and work in our everyday lives. Now more than ever our democracy needs a trustworthy outlet

Contribute
Contributors

The urgent 21st century upgrades Congress needs to do its job

Kevin R. Kosar

Two debates about Henry Kissinger's legacy

Dave Anderson

Our shared humanity and collective responsibility

Jenn Hoos Rothberg

The conservative mind at 70

Michael Lucchese

Fulcrum Rewind: How to get along at Thanksgiving

Debilyn Molineaux
David L. Nevins

How reforming felony murder laws can reduce juvenile justice harms

Margaret Mikulski
latest News

Johnny’s American future

Debilyn Molineaux
2h

Are state governments ready for today’s unique challenges?

Kevin Frazier
01 December

2024 caucus-primary and general elections controlled by extremists

Steve Corbin
01 December

A crisis creates clarity for donors

Jack Miller
01 December

Generative AI and its rapid incorporation into advertising

Madelyn Sanfilippo
01 December

Don’t soundproof your heart

Tim Shriver
30 November
Videos
Who is the new House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson?

Who is the new House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson?

Our Staff
Video: Jordan bully tactics backfire, provoke threats and harassment of fellow Republicans

Video: Jordan bully tactics backfire, provoke threats and harassment of fellow Republicans

Our Staff
Video Rewind: Reflection on Indigenous Peoples' Day with Rev. F. Willis Johnson

Video Rewind: Reflection on Indigenous Peoples' Day with Rev. F. Willis Johnson

Our Staff
Video: The power of young voices

Video: The power of young voices

Our Staff
Video: Expert baffled by Trump contradicting legal team

Video: Expert baffled by Trump contradicting legal team

Our Staff
Video: Do white leaders hinder black aspirations?

Video: Do white leaders hinder black aspirations?

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Dr. F Willis Johnson in rich conversation with Steve Lawler

Lennon Wesley III
29 November

Podcast: Dr. F. Willis Johnson in a rich conversation with Patrick McNeal

Our Staff
14 November

Podcast: Better choices, better elections

Our Staff
23 October

Podcast: Are state legislators really accountable to their voters?

Our Staff
06 October
Recommended
Johnny Addams

Johnny’s American future

Big Picture
Sen. Rick Scott

The urgent 21st century upgrades Congress needs to do its job

Congress
Henry Kissinger

Two debates about Henry Kissinger's legacy

Leveraging big ideas
Are state governments ready for today’s unique challenges?

Are state governments ready for today’s unique challenges?

State
2024 caucus-primary and general elections controlled by extremists

2024 caucus-primary and general elections controlled by extremists

Elections
A crisis creates clarity for donors

A crisis creates clarity for donors

Big Picture