In 2008, the National Journal released The Hidden History of the American Electorate, an analysis of exit poll demographics conducted by multiple news organizations from US presidential elections between 1988 and 2004. The study looked for "pressure points in the electorate": trends which were likely to decide the outcome of the 2008 presidential election. They've released an update for 2012, by adding exit poll results from the 1980, 1984, and 2008 presidential elections. It gives a more comprehensive look at voting trends over a 32 year period of the groups whom they believe are likely to influence the outcome in November. Charts: Voting Preferences of the American Electorate, 1980-2008
posted by zarq on Sep 3, 2012 - 54 comments

Blackout Some sites have gone black today in protest of black box voting and/or four more years of Bush. But, actually, I haven't seen many. Are people tired of fighting or is this just a poorly-organized effort no one knows about?
posted by sparky on Jan 20, 2005 - 64 comments

How Bush Did It "A team of Newsweek reporters unveils the untold fears, secret battles and private emotions behind a historic election." An in-depth series of behind-the-scenes articles. [via Salon 's War Room, which also says Bush's bulge was a bulletproof vest.]
posted by kirkaracha on Nov 4, 2004 - 55 comments

Electing to Leave - A guide to expatriating (via blogdex)
posted by sourbrew on Nov 3, 2004 - 131 comments

"You're An Asshole." A film strip we can all appreciate in time for tomorrow's big event. Try singing along!
posted by Brilliantcrank on Nov 1, 2004 - 6 comments

Over 125 voter guides, sorted by city and written collaboratively by Indyvoter's network of members are now on-line. This is social software with a purpose - members of the network form voting blocs to swing close elections, from city council members up to the national level.
posted by djacobs on Nov 1, 2004 - 1 comment

Endorsement: Kerry for President Ok. The NY Times endorsed Kerry. And now the Washington Post. But now the Orlando-Sentinel, a paper that has not endorsed a Demcorat in the past 40 years! "Four years ago, the Orlando Sentinel endorsed Republican George W. Bush for president based on our trust in him to unite America. We expected him to forge bipartisan solutions to problems while keeping this nation secure and fiscally sound. This president has utterly failed to fulfill our expectations. We turn now to his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, with the belief that he is more likely to meet the hopes we once held for Mr. Bush. Our choice was not dictated by partisanship. Already this election season, the Sentinel has endorsed Republican Mel Martinez for the U.S. Senate and four U.S. House Republicans. In 2002, we backed Republican Gov. Jeb Bush for re-election, repeating our endorsement of four years earlier. Indeed, it has been 40 years since the Sentinel endorsed a Democrat -- Lyndon Johnson -- for president...."
posted by Postroad on Oct 24, 2004 - 35 comments

American teens have spoken, and they want George W. Bush for president. Nearly 1.4 million teens voted in the nation's largest mock election, and the Republican incumbent wound up with 393 electoral votes and 55 percent of the total votes cast.
posted by Mick on Oct 21, 2004 - 49 comments

Iranian regime endorses Bush, saying democrats have historically "harmed Iran." Head of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Hassan Rowhani, is very close to the hardline leader, Ali Khamanei. But the truth is Republicans have always helped dictators in Iran,. Biggest example: 1953 coup that toppled Mossadeq, the extremely popular elected official prime minister of Iran and brought back the tyrant Shaah.
posted by hoder on Oct 19, 2004 - 20 comments

Two weeks from today, John Kerry will win the popular vote by "23% or more" over George W. Bush, according to 5 Star Psychic Advice. See if you can do better than the spirit world by predicting the electoral and popular vote totals in the second quadrennial MetaFilter Presidential Contest ...
posted by rcade on Oct 19, 2004 - 127 comments

The best political photo essay i've ever seen. A cheeky look at Bush's flip flops in the form of a shoe catalogue.
posted by tsarfan on Oct 8, 2004 - 18 comments

klingons for kerry
posted by angry modem on Sep 28, 2004 - 7 comments

Was your voter registration form thick enough? Ohio's republican secretary of state has issued an order (three days before the registration deadline) to throw out all voter registration forms printed on paper less then 80lb. Coincidence that dem-leaning areas have seen a 250% rise in voter registration, with tens of thousands of new voters in a race expected to be closer then FL 2000?

Oh yeah, the state sent out 40lb forms to those requesting them. Cute, huh.
posted by delmoi on Sep 27, 2004 - 82 comments

The Bloggers on the Bus: The New York Times Magazine on bloggers on the campaign trail, and what effect they may or may not have.
posted by mrbula on Sep 26, 2004 - 35 comments

Slate translates Kerry to English. A lot of the argument lately is that Kerry doesn't really offer up a concete stand on his viewpoint. This article from William Saletan sums up what he believes Kerry is trying to say based on the speech he gave in New York earlier, and how he really stands in opposition to President Bush. Thoughts?
posted by daHIFI on Sep 21, 2004 - 32 comments

Zell Miller obviously doesn't read Snopes or else he would have known that Kerry didn't ever intend on arming our military with sticks and clubs spitballs. the Martini Republic reminds us that in July snopes debunked the heart of miller's attacks that he delivered in his keynote on wednesday.
posted by tsarfan on Sep 3, 2004 - 26 comments

What Went Wrong in Iraq, By Larry Diamond, From Foreign Affairs, September/October 2004
posted by semmi on Aug 25, 2004 - 20 comments

The campaign website of Alan Keyes , Illinois Republican Party's nominee for the United States Senate. [via Chicagoist]
posted by azul on Aug 17, 2004 - 48 comments

This Land is Your Land (with apologies to Woody Guthrie). Belated non-partisan Friday Flash Fun. (Saturday Sarcastic Silliness?)
posted by Turtles all the way down on Jul 17, 2004 - 3 comments

With under four months left to the real election, the Atlas of Presidential Elections is holding a mock election (free registration required to vote), in which Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik holds a lead over John Kerry and George W. Bush. The real results may be a little bit different in November.
posted by RobbieFal on Jul 6, 2004 - 8 comments

Veepfilter: The well-kept secret about Kerry's running mate might just have broken... on an aviation message board, of all places.
posted by moonbird on Jul 5, 2004 - 171 comments

The spite factor - Or, why Democrats are in danger of losing their wonderful, angry momentum.
posted by Space Coyote on Jun 16, 2004 - 40 comments

Frustrated Republicans: President on vacation while Iraq burns got you down? Feeling loyal to the party, ideas, or repulsed by the Dems? Agonizing over voting Bush to stay true? Sign the petition, Maybe you won't have to. And Dems, if you can promise to be open minded in November you can sign as well. via Blogging of the President
posted by daver on Apr 10, 2004 - 16 comments

Its a vast left wing conspiracy! It seems that the RNC (Republican national committee) is seeing conspiracy everywhere. There are lots of stand alone groups that have been trying to get rid of this administration before Kerry showed up on the scene, and now that there is a target they want to hang everything on him. Its almost like flattery. Of course it reminds me of when SCO claimed IBM was orchestrating all the bad press about them.
posted by MrLint on Apr 3, 2004 - 8 comments

Props to the 1st amendment This election year, the impact of grassroots organizing on the internet is pricking up some ears in Washington. Here's something to add to the chorus.
posted by greensweater on Mar 11, 2004 - 8 comments

US elections: the world-wide vote.
"In November 2004, U.S. citizens will elect their new President. The outcome of these elections directly influences the lives of citizens around the world. Theworldvotes.org seeks to apply new technologies to provide citizens around the world with a voice in matters that affects us all. Ensure that your voice is heard by registering electronically and add momentum to a worldwide drive to establish global democracy."
Noble sentiments, but isn't this an admission of submission to the empire? A surrender of sovereignty? A call for a new Caracalla's edict? Is this a good idea both for the US and the "rest of the world"?
posted by talos on Jan 30, 2004 - 31 comments

Presidential Market 2004 is an online game in which players buy and sell "shares" of the major 2004 presidential candidates. If you finish on Election Day with one of the two highest-valued portfolios — by executing savvy trades throughout the primaries and general election campaign — you'll win a trip to the inauguration next January.
posted by Brilliantcrank on Jan 28, 2004 - 5 comments

Whatever happened to Howard Dean?

"He was assassinated by Bill and Hillary with the assistance of Chris Lehane, the political hit man who first worked for Kerry and now backs Clark.
Desperate to keep control of the Democratic Party, the Clintons used their negative researchers and detectives to the ultimate and generated a story-a-day savaging Dean. The Vermont governor, not ready for prime time, cooperated by being thin-skinned, surly and combative. "

caveat: I'm not trolling, but as a democrat I find this interesting. Ok, nauseating.
posted by mecran01 on Jan 24, 2004 - 102 comments

Which is the best type of writer to cover a nine person campaign that lasts two years? A novelist of course. Only a novelist can come up with the sort of obvious truths that reporters can't or aren't allowed to write. Like, "I've met Sharpton before and I can say with full confidence the man is a liar, an opportunist, and a swine." The other candidates on Gore's endorsement, "Fuck fat fucking Al shit fucking Gore." Or Kucinich's campaign, "Just before I go to sleep I ask myself, Why not love your fellow man, why not peace on earth? ... And the answer occurs to me immediately—because the other guy wants to rape your women and kill your children." Stephen Elliott, four time novelist and card shark, is on the campaign.
posted by raaka on Jan 16, 2004 - 5 comments

A challenger to Bush for the Republican nomination?
posted by gregb1007 on Jan 2, 2004 - 25 comments

Link from the FEC's website A link off of the FEC's website seems to suggest Hillary Clinton's going to take a shot at the big office. The results can be retrieved like this:

1) Go to The FEC Site
2) Click on "Citizen Guide"
3) Click on "View Reports" under the "Campaign Finance Information" header on the right
4) Click "Search the Report Image System"
5) Search for "Clinton, Hillary"

The first link is for Senate in 2000, the second is for President in 2004. It would seem that she's breaking her promise to the residents of New York State to not run for President during her first term. However, this Wired article suggests she was listed for the same thing for the 2000 elections (though the record now lists 2004).
posted by phong3d on Oct 3, 2003 - 16 comments

Bush / Giuliani in 2004? Is this the team the Democrats will have to beat in 2004?Rudy Giuliani is still riding on the wave of popularity from his post 9/11 actions. Apparently he's got his eye on the White House, even if it breaks Dick Cheney's heart.
posted by crunchland on Jun 9, 2002 - 34 comments

The Bush campaign is seeking contributions to fund the Florida recount and here I am thinking that they were fighting the recount. I'm sorry to add a link to the political chaos but the Bush campaign just baffles me to no end. Could some objective non-partisan please stand up for the people's constitutional right to franchisement?
posted by cheesebot on Nov 13, 2000 - 1 comment

19,000 Fla Ballots Nullified. ...and allegedly Gore was only behind in the state by 1800. This is gonna get interesting.
posted by bkdelong on Nov 8, 2000 - 30 comments