# How can I find out who's on the ballot?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-out-whos-on-the-ballot/271920>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 29, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-out-whos-on-the-ballot/271920 "2004-10-29T20:49:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-out-whos-on-the-ballot/271920/1 "2004-10-29T20:49:20Z")

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I live in New York. When I lived in California, before each election I would receive a copy of the ballot and a voter’s guide that included candidate’s statements and arguments for and against each proposition. In New York, all I get is a card telling me where my polling place is located.

I’ve gone to the NY State Board of Elections and found [this ballot](http://www.elections.state.ny.us/reports/rwservlet?report=candidate+desformat=html+destype=cache+userid=rept_browser/rept_browser@prod). But I have to search this long document to find out which candidates are running in each county. It’s still impossible to determine which candidates are in my area, because the districts overlap with county lines. Also, how do I find out more about these candidates (other than googling each one individually)?

Thanks for your help.

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**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-out-whos-on-the-ballot/271920/2 "2004-10-29T20:52:04Z")

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Call your local municipality. In Michigan it’d be the Clerk. They should be able to give you the facts. Hope that helps.

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**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-out-whos-on-the-ballot/271920/3 "2004-10-29T21:33:52Z")

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That suggestion did lead me to the answer. The recording I got mentioned the League of Women Voters website. From there I got to the [DemocracyNet website](http://www.dnet.org), which has the list of candidates and links to more information. It’s a pretty good resource for anyone unsure of what they’ll be voting on.