Ways to Stay Informed on Politics, Elections, and Local Government

You’ve heard it countless times — staying informed on politics is important, and especially at the local level. Local governments hold vital powers over issues that directly affect your community, and policies at the local level can expand to nationwide movements and federal laws. In local elections, your vote could even make the difference between one candidate or another.

But sometimes, staying up-to-date can feel like a full-time job.

Here, we make it easy for you. Read on for some of the main steps for how to start incorporating civic engagement into your daily routine and other helpful resources you can refer to at any time. Utilize all, some, or even just one thing on this list and you are already on your way to becoming a more civically-minded person!

Check your voter registration status.

• You can check your voter registration status in less than 30 seconds, according to vote.org’s 50-state tool. You can also check Rock the Vote’s website or the USA.gov website. 
• If you aren’t yet registered to vote, check with your state or local election’s website to get the most accurate information on how to get started. 
• For more information on voter registration, check out our resource here. 

Identify your representatives and local leaders.

• This is a great place to start, from the federal to the local level. Knowing who your representatives are is important to know who makes decisions that directly impact you and your community. 
• Check out My Reps to locate your federal, state, county, and local elected officials.
• Vote 411’s site not only allows you to check your voter registration, but also see what’s on your ballot, find a polling place, and discover upcoming debates in your area.

Learn what each position does.

• Check out our Civic Education page for a number of informative videos and written pieces explaining what exactly a governor, lieutenant governor, county commission, sheriff, comptroller, county clerk, school board, district attorney, and other local officials do.

What issues do you care about?

• Healthcare, education, taxes, crime and safety, environmental protection, voting rights, housing — these are all potential issues that could be impacting your local community. Which ones speak to you? Do any directly affect you? Identifying issues you care about will help you make decisions about who you want to vote for, where you might want to volunteer or donate, and what news you want to follow.
• Not sure where you stand? The Pew Research Center’s political typology quiz sorts you into nine groups to help you identify where you land on the political spectrum.
• Read local news sources. Check out local newspapers, broadcast news stations, and radio stations for essential reporting on city and state-specific issues. They might even have resources for local election information on their websites too. 

Fact check.

• Don’t get caught up in fake news. Politifact and FactCheck.org are two websites that fact-check statements from politicians, news outlets, social media, and other sources. Just Facts partnered with Politifact, FactCheck.org, and the Washington Post to create a database called That’s Bull, where you can look up fact checks on a politician’s public statements.

Learn about your local leaders

• What have your representatives voted on in the past? What do they advocate for? Govtrack.us provides a database of information on how your representatives in Congress have voted on legislation. ProPublica’s Represent project also lets you keep track of what your representatives say and do, bills that are under consideration each week, the latest major votes and congressional statements.  
• Common Cause is another source to find your representatives, how to contact them, committees they’ve served on and political contributions they’ve accepted. 
• Many politicians have social media, so you can follow them to get updates on what they are up to in real-time. 
• If there’s an upcoming election, sign up for campaign emails and texts from a candidate you support to receive information on upcoming events, fundraisers, and statements.

What are the upcoming elections you can vote in? And who is on the ballot?

• Ballotpedia is an incredible, nonpartisan resource to use for seeing the upcoming elections you can vote on and who exactly will be on the ballot. For more information on how to use Ballotpedia’s sample ballot, click here.

Feeling burnt out?

• Take a break from the news. It’s important to stay informed, but not at the expense of your health. Make sure to take time for yourself, your family, and do things away from your phone or computer screen. 
• No one can be involved and informed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Know your limits, manage your stress, and keep fighting the good fight.