How to Choose The Right Canidate
1. You can find non biased information from The League of Women Voters, www.lwv.org, They provide nonpartisan voter education materials and information resources. Consider visiting the national site and the state or local league websites for additional information. They post Primary information (as in straight from the source), which you can also use as a reference for present candidate statements and positions.
2. Consider visiting the United States Senate site, which will give information on voting record as well as other resources regarding the senators. http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm
3. What do the Issues say about the candidate?: Look at proposals for addressing problems. What is the candidates voting record on the issue? Do they Understanding the history and the present situation, then moving forward with a specific strategic plan. Where do they Stand on current problems and how to resolve them. Differentiate words, rhetoric and personality from actual plans and actions for addressing and resolving issues and problems. Realistic plans for the future.
4. Record the Debates: Do not just rely on news commentators interpretations and opinions. Consider recording the debates so you can replay them and compare responses made during the different debates. Viewing a debate 2 or more times usually provides added insight. Observe the candidate's speech intonation, body language and subtle gestures to get added information about the candidate's response and feelings. Additionally observe a candidate's facial and body response to their opponent's answers.
5. Listen to different news channels, radio stations and commentators. Frequently a newspaper, channel, radio station or news commentator favors a particular party and/or candidate. Keep this in mind when considering and evaluating information.
6. Include more objective information from sources such as the US Senate site, The League of Women Voters, public service stations, C-Span, census data, voting records, and first hand information.
7. How do you know whose statistics are correct? Even though each candidate offers different statistics on the same issue, in some cases maybe both candidates are correct, however in other cases this may not be true. Some questions for interpreting the candidates statistics: How can the candidates give different statistics on the same issue? When was the data collected, what years or intervals were used? Who collected the data (was it a group or corporation with a vested interest)? What was the sample or who responded to the questions?
8. Very Important: Be aware of your own biases. If you already have a favorite, it will probably affect how you evaluate the information about your candidate as well as the other candidate(s). Try to keep an open mind, consider all information and use objectivity.
