Ballotpedia – The Citizen Powered Encyclopedia to Direct Democracy

Practical Uses:

• You live in a state with a number of ballot measures (like California) and you want to get information all at one source, free from editorializing
• You want to see how certain initiatives are progressing throughout the country
• You’re a political junkie who wants to add some expertise on a subject. Create an account at Ballotpedia and add to the discussion
• You want to find polling information pre-election or results election night
• You’re a journalist or blogger in need of detailed information about elections

Insider Tips:

• Click on the news articles at the bottom of wiki pages. Though there’s plenty of factual information, you can also find links to editorials as well
• Narrow down your searches. There’s so much information that you can get lost in the site, far afield from your original search
• If you know of a good research, open up an account and add it to the Wiki

What we liked:

• It has an impressive amount of information. There’s no reason to hunt around on Google for election information: it’s all here
• It’s free
• It’s really one of the most informative sites online. Frequently listed as one of the top election-related sites online

What we didn’t like:

• It’s slow – especially on election night, but even during the year
• Many wiki’s can be difficult to navigate, and Ballotpedia is no exception. You have to be pedia-literate to navigate the site
• It’s not especially well-organized. There’s too much information on one page. There’s an impressive amount of information, but sometimes less is more

Alternatives:

• Wikipedia – http://www.wikipedia.org
• Smart Voter – http://www.smartvoter.org
• E-Democracy – http://www.e-democracy.org
• Election Protection- http://www.866ourvote.org
• ProCon – http://www.procon.org

Company Info:

• Launched: March 2008
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Chicago, IL
• Web site: http://www.ballotpedia.org

Costs:

• Free