Civic engagement and voting

The best place to start your research is looking up your ballot to see what you'll be voting on. The MN Secretary of State Voter Information Portal lists the candidates and questions that will be on the ballot in your precinct.

Information on candidates and issues nationwide from a nonprofit with a focus on American politics.

See candidate positions on key issues and compare your issue positions to candidates for the presidential and congressional races.

MediaWise Voter Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit initiative of The Poynter Institute teaching first-time voters how to find reliable and accurate information about the 2020 election. Includes a series of videos and free courses about finding election information.

Find upcoming debates and candidates information for your specific ballot.

Nonpartisan group focused on political action and engagement, including voter education and literacy.

Non-partisan political news site authored and founded in 2006 by Dr. Eric Ostermeier with support from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Center for the Study of Politics and Governance (CSPG).

Division of MPR focusing on up-to-the minute news and in-depth coverage of issues.

Independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell.

Non-profit publisher of online news and analysis by professional journalists about the Twin Cities. The site features video and audio as well as written stories, commentary, and comments from readers.

Minnesota's largest newspaper featuring news from the Twin Cities metro, the state, and beyond. Some articles can be viewed by non-subscribers online; full-text access is also available for UMN affiliates via the "Library Access to Minnesota Newspapers" link below.

Minnesota's oldest newspaper focusing on news from St. Paul, the greater Twin Cities area, the MN Capitol, and across the state. Some articles can be viewed by non-subscribers online; full-text access is also available for UMN affiliates via the "Library Access to Minnesota Newspapers" link below.

Independent, nonprofit digital newsroom fully dedicated to providing authentic news reporting for and with immigrants and communities of color in Minnesota.

UMN affiliates can gain current and historical access to the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Duluth News Tribune, and more.

FactCheck a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

Fact-checking journalism is the heart of PolitiFact. Our core principles are independence, transparency, fairness, thorough reporting and clear writing. The reason we publish is to give citizens the information they need to govern themselves in a democracy.

A Matter of Facts is a fact checking resource produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries.

Project Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in six basic areas: background information, issue positions (via the Political Courage Test), voting records, campaign finances, interest group ratings, and speeches and public statements. This information is distributed via their web site, a toll-free phone number, and print publications.