Saturday, 12 September 2015

elections

This guide is an introduction to the research process that, while not being an exhaustive list of information resources available, should be helpful in getting started in your research about elections.  Below you will find pointers to suggested research terms about elections, materials in the library catalog about elections, websites relevant to elections, and links to library databases that contain information about elections.  Please use our email reference service, contact us at (310) 434-4254, or visit us in the library at the reference desk if you need further assistance.
Go to:   Suggested Research Terms   Materials in the Library Catalog    Websites   Library Databases

Suggested Research Terms

One of the really helpful things when searching for information about a topic is a short list of terms related to a topic.  We think the following terms will help with your research about elections:
  • campaign reform
  • election reform
  • election fraud
  • electoral college
  • political candidates
  • political conventions
  • referendum
  • woman suffrage
  • primaries
  • campaign finance

Materials in the library catalog related to elections

We have the following materials in the library catalog related to elections:

Websites on elections

The following websites will help you with your research on elections:
California elections
CVF is a "nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to... [providing] the public with access to the information needed to participate in public life...", and their site offers data on new district maps, statewide ballot measures, candidates running for office in California, and much more.
The League, in existence since 1920, "is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization of women and men which never supports or opposes candidates or political parties." There is much information on ballot measures, candidates, how to contact representatives and archival information on past California elections.
Searches available include locating your polling place, results of past elections, and information about individual candidates. This site also offers information on elections by California county as well as archived information on elections since November 1997.
The Secretary of State of California offers information on upcoming elections. It presents election returns, absentee ballot count, a voter information guide and candidate information.
United States/Nationwide elections
"Since 1920, the Clerk of the House (of Representatives) has collected and published the official vote counts for federal elections from the official sources among the various states and territories." The statistics, in both HTML and PDF formats, are listed by year, in reverse chronological order.
The site, produced by the Election Reform information Project, provides up-to-date information on topics concerned with election reform, including data on election administration procedures, analyses, and reports.
The database offers access to information on which persons or entities contributed to which elections, by state. Researchers can also find names of contributors to around 115 interest groups.
OpenSecrets.org is sponsored by the Center for Responsive Politics - a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy.
The site archives around 1000 websites devoted to covering the controversial Election of 2000. Commissioned by the Library of Congress, the pages in the site cover a time period from August 2000 to January 21, 2001. The directory of the collection includes web sites under such headings as Reform Party sites, Democratic Party sites, Green Party sites; news, vote trading, and even humor sites.
International elections
A listing of websites on many countries, with links to information on current and past elections. There is also a generous roundup of more general websites offering data on the world electoral scene.

Library Databases relevant to elections

The following Santa Monica College Library online databases may contain material relevant to elections.  Databases may include magazine, newspaper and journal articles.  Off-campus users, please note: you must be a Santa Monica College student, faculty or staff member to use these services.
Academic Search Premier, MasterFile Premier
Academic Search Premier and MasterFile Premier provide full text for over 6200 periodicals including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975.
National Newspapers (1985- current)
Local, regional and national news coverage from selected newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor.
Business Source Elite
Full-text coverage of scholarly business, management and economics journals. Also includes publications covering topics such as accounting, banking, finance, international business, marketing, sales, etc. Business Source Elite offers full text for nearly 1,000 business publications and more than 10,000 company profiles.
Encyclopedia Americana
Includes 45,000 articles, plus thousands of hypertext links to web sites featuring additional data. It is updated quarterly.
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