Presidential Election 2004 

Background Information

2004 Elections Project (Center for the Study of Politics, University of Minnesota) Provides non-partisan information about the 2004 elections.  Principal focus is on the upper midwestern states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.

America Votes 2004 (CNN) Highlights candidate profiles, campaign finance, the issues, and opinion polls. 

CQ Voting and Elections (IPFW faculty, students, and staff only)

DemocracyNet (League of Women Voters) provides candidate issue statements issued by the candidates themselves with no editing, and voter registration information by location.

Elections (Federal Documents Task Force) is a comprehensive list of links to candidates, parties, and campaign information.

Elections 2004 (University of Michigan) is a comprehensive list of links to candidates, parties, and campaign information.

FactCheck.org (Annenberg Political Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania) monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by candidates in TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.

Presidential Market 2004 (Frontline, PBS) treats the presidential election as a simulated futures market. 

Project Vote Smart covers all candidates in five basic categories: biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campign finances, and interest group ratings.

United States Electoral College (NARA) provides background information about the Electoral College and an Electoral College calculator for predicting the election.

What Makes a Good President? (American Psychological Association)

Candidates

• Democratic Party - John Kerry/John Edwards
• Republican Party - George W. Bush/Dick Cheney
• Third Party Candidates
• Constitution Party - Michael Peroutka/ Chuck Baldwin
• Green Party - David Cobb/Pat LaMarche
• Independents - Ralph Nader/Miguel Camejo
• Libertarian Party - Michael Badnarik/Richard Campagna
• Reform Party - Ted Weill
• Socialist Party - Walt Brown/Mary Alice Herbert

Conventions, Platforms, and Political Party Sites

• Democratic National Committee
• Democratic National Convention
• Democratic Party Platform (PDF)
• Green Party
• Green Party National Convention
• Green Party Platform
• Independents (Ralph Nader) Party Platform
• Libertarian Party
• Libertarian Party National Convention
• Libertarian Party Platform
• Republican National Committee
• Republication National Convention
• Republican Party Platform (PDF)

Finance

2004 Presidential Election (Center for Responsive Politics) features information on receipts, spending, cash-on-hand, donors, PACs, soft money, and lobbyists. 

Buying of the President 2004 (Center for Public Integrity) provides a comprehensive financial database for each candidate which includes personal wealth, contributions, and campaign expenditures.

Campaign Finance Reform, or Not? (University of Michigan) provides a research guide to campaign finance reform literature and government publications.

Federal Election Commission This agency is responsible for enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions and overseeing the public funding of presidential elections.  The site includes reports on campaign finance, party fund raising, PAC data, and historical campaign data.  

Fund Race 2004 Search by address or name to find those who have made presidential campaign contributions or see a map of contributions by city.

Political MoneyLine Guide to Presidential Races provides candidate money profiles including presidential electronic filing summaries, contributions by PACs, individuals, and the party, and matching funds by state.

Media Coverage

Bush campaign ads

Campaign Desk (Columbia Journalism Review) Critiques and analyzes 2004 campaign coverage.

FactCheck.Org (Annenberg Political Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania) monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by candidates in TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.

Kerry campaign ads

News and Media Coverage (Open Directory) links to major news sources for 2004 election information.

Policy Issues

Positions of Ten Candidates in Ten Important Areas (Michigan Quaker Peace Forum)

On the Issues outlines political leader's views on major international, domestic, economic, and social issues.

President Match AOL News and Time provide a decision guide by matching your stance on issues with the candidates or comparing candidates on top issues.

Presidential Debates

Commission on Presidential Debates sponsors and produces debates for United States Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates.  The Presidential debate schedule is Thursday, September 30, 2004, Friday, October 8, 2004 and Wednesday, October 13, 2004.  One Vice Presidential debate is set for Tuesday, October 5, 2004.

Public Opinion Polls

20 Questions a Journalist Should Ask About Poll Results (National Council on Public Polls)

Gallup Poll brief summaries of latest election polls.

National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES04) provides news releases on recent polling data.

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press provides results of poll surveys by date and topic.

PollingReport.com, an independent, non-partisan group, compares results of polls conducted by various polling organizations.

Political Forecasting Special Interest Group Reports on match-ups between Bush and Kerry in public opinion surveys conducted by major news or polling organizations, as well as what political scientists, economists, and others are forecasting with econometric and other models.

Roper Center Election 2004 Collects election-related information from all the major polling firms.  Tracks key issues and approval ratings.

Voter Registration

Federal Voting Assistance Program voting assistance guide for military and other personnel overseas.

Register to Vote (ALA) online voting registration process.

Register-Vote links to sites for registration online or at local agencies, and also promotes voter education.

Voter Information (League of Women Voters) provides state-by-state voter registration information.