US Presidential Election 2008: Basic Information
Here is a 3-minute video explaining how the presidential election process:
Video: Electing a US President in Plain English
http://commoncraft.com/store-item/election
Description of US Presidential Election Process
Presidential Elections in the United States: A Primer. Kevin J. Coleman et al.
Congressional Research Service. April 17, 2000. 53 pp. CRS Report RL30527.
An excellent primer that describes the four stages of the presidential election process: the pre-nomination primaries and caucuses for selecting delegates to the national conventions; the national nominating conventions; the general election; and voting by members of the electoral college to choose the president and vice president.
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30527.pdf (pg 33-50 are particularly helpful at this point in the election cycle)
This website from the non-partisan organization "Voters Abroad" provides an excellent overview of the election process and includes many helpful maps and graphs:
http://www.electoral-vote.com/index.html
This entry on the MSN Encarta online encyclopedia describes the US election process and would be good background for the course:
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569491/Election.html
Here's a list of election terminology
http://www.pbs.org/elections/glossary/index.html
The Electoral College
This website gives a good overview of the electoral college system:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepoliticalsystem/a/electcollege.htm
careful: satire!!!
Alternative definitions of election terms from the satirical magazine "The Onion"
http://politicsoffthegrid.wordpress.com/2008/02/11/glossary-of-election-terms-onion-style/
POLLS
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20081015_POLL.pdf
