Research Guides: Voting Information Guide: Home

This guide offers resources and reading materials about voting rights in the United States. Timelines and broad scope reading materials give an overview of the history of voting rights and debates surrounding voting rights in the political arena. A list of major policies and accompanying non-academic reading material contextualizes many of the major moments that are discussed in these broader histories in easily digestible and enjoyable formats. A list of resources about voter suppression will help you understand it, identify it, and learn what to do when you see it or experience it. And lists of trusted library and web resources will help you continue your own research on everything from upcoming elections to broader topics in the United States' political landscape.

Dickinson Votes wants to help you vote!

The next election is Tuesday, November 4, 2025!

Dickinson Votes is a non-partisan group of volunteer Dickinson College students, staff, and faculty dedicated to ensuring that all eligible Dickinsonians have the opportunity to participate in federal, state, and local elections.

Visit Dickinson Votes for upcoming election dates, steps to register in Carlisle, how to request a mail-in ballot, what to bring to the voting booth, and more! Stay safe and make sure your vote counts!

General Resources

Voting Rights

Know Your Voting Rights

Voting rights in the United States are established, supported, and regulated through Constitutional amendments, federal voting rights laws, state laws, and Supreme Court decisions. Use these resources to get up to date voting rights info:

State and local voting laws vary across the country. Check your local voting requirements by visiting Nonprofit Vote's state-by-state resource

Local Information

Local Election Information

Your local elections matter, too! For non-partisan information on what to expect in elections at all levels of government, visit:

Ballotpedia.org
- Select your state and explore your ballot!
Vote411.org
- Enter your location or Dickinson's (272 W. High Street, Carlisle, PA 17013), and Vote411 will allow you to view local races, compare candidates and their positions side by side, and learn more about ballot questions.

Library Resources

Use the following library resources to learn more about the pressing issues in this year's elections:

CQ Press Electronic Library
Browse CQ Press electronic resources, including CQ Researcher and the CQ Press electronic editions of reference books. Reference books include Congress A to Z, Elections A to Z, Supreme Court A to Z, U.S. Constitution A to Z, Encyclopedia of Religion in America, Encyclopedia of Political Science, Guide to Interest Groups & Lobbying, Voter Turnout in the United States, Vital Statistics on American Politics, The Contemporary Middle East, and more. Some full text. This purchase was funded in part by the Mary Moser Memorial Library Fund.
CQ Researcher

Access a weekly analysis on one of many broad-ranging topics from the news. Each report focuses on a single issue and is written by a seasoned journalist. Coverage: 1991 to present. Full text.
Points of View Reference Source
Designed to assist researchers in understanding the full scope of controversial subjects. Each Points of View Essay includes a series of questions and additional material to generate further thought. Also included are thousands of supporting articles from the world's top political and societal publications.
Voting Rights & Election Law

Information surrounding historical and recent elections at both the U.S. federal, and local levels, as well as elections in other countries for a global perspective. Topics include Absentee Voting, Ballots, Campaign Finance, Election Administration, Election Integrity, Election Outcomes, Election Reform, Electoral College, Federal Election Commission, Gerrymandering, Legislative Redistricting, Political Campaigns, Suffrage, Voter Identification, Voter Registration, and Voting Rights.
Includes books, treatises, reports, legislative histories, congressional hearings, and scholarly articles.
Coverage: 1700 to present. Full text.

PA Voter Eligibility

You are eligible to vote in Pennsylvania if you are:

at least 18 years old on or before the date of the election
a citizen of the United States for at least one month before the date of the election
a resident of Pennsylvania for at least thirty days before the date of the election

As a college student living in Pennsylvania, you are eligible to vote in Pennsylvania if you meet requirements numbers 1 and 2.

Web Resources

The following list is a selection of web resources for learning about the issues in this year's election, and the stances of various candidates. Inclusion in this list does not imply approval of the views expressed on these sites.

BallotPedia
"The Encyclopedia of American Politics." Offers a sample ballot lookup.
C-SPAN
"C-SPAN is a public service created by the American Cable Television Industry"
The Center for Responsible Politics
Good information on federal campaign contributions.
FiveThirtyEight
Nate Silver's political site
FollowTheMoney
"The nation's only free, nonpartisan, verifiable archive of contributions to political campaigns in all 50 states."
Huffington Post Pollster
Nonpartisan poll aggregation tool
On The Issues
"Our mission is to provide non-partisan information for voters in the Presidential election, so that votes can be based on issues rather than on personalities and popularity."
Polling Report
Shows results for multiple different questions on the same issues.
Real Clear Politics
Poll aggregation site. Also includes daily lists of news articles from various sources.
Sunlight Foundation
"A nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for open government globally and uses technology to make government more accountable to all." Includes an archive of deleted political tweets.
VoteSmart
"Vote Smart's mission is to provide free, factual, unbiased information on candidates and elected officials to ALL Americans."
FactCheck.org
"We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics." A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Voting Information Guide: Home