Election 2008: Who to Believe

It's an election year again. More billboards, more election signs, more tv and radio advertisements. With all of the doing the same thing, telling you who is the best person to vote for and who you should not vote for. The problem for most people is which advertisement to believe. How do you know which candidate is telling you the truth and which one is blowing smoke to try to make themselves sound better? Below are five tips to try to help you make informed decisions this year.

First, visit members campaign pages for more detailed descriptions of their positions on various policies. The politicians are eager to tell you how they feel about many of the issues that affect you and here they can do it in a more thorough fashion. Television and radio advertising are expensive and they only have a minute or less to get their message across. On the website, they can detail these items out and people are able to take the time to read and understand them.

Second, visit government websites to see what the politicians have been up to. There are official record keeping sites that keep track of what the politicians have been up to over their previous terms. You should be able to find voting records on various bills that have come through the legislature, what bills the candidates have written or helped to sponsor and more. How they handled themselves previously is a good indicator of how they are going to act in the future.

Third, watch your local newspapers and the national news magazines. These entities generally try to be impartial to the candidates and state the facts the best that they can. Some smaller newspapers will also endorse their favorites candidates, but they will usually highlight why. This reasoning is based on solid reporting and the facts surrounding the issues.

Fourth, the Internet is a wonderful tool to research the candidates and what they stand for. Previously we mentioned government websites and the candidates websites, but there is a whole host of other sites and forums to explore. A simple Yahoo or Google search can bring you a seemingly endless stream of information. A quick word or caution though. Not all websites are reliable in their facts and figures. It does not hurt to verify data across multiple sources before basing your decisions on them.

Fifth, check with local party leaders to see if the candidates are following the doctrines of the party and if not, why. These local resources could shine a lot of light on the different candidates and influence how you feel. Again, it does not hurt to try to verify any facts that you come up with before finalizing your decision.

Elections are a time to tell the politicians how you feel, a time for your voice to be heard. It is also important that you make informed decisions based on the facts. The best way to garner these facts are to do as much research and reading as you can. The more you read and the facts you find, the more secure you can be choosing one candidate over the other.