We are working on a couple of interesting research stories (stay tuned!!!) … and the past two days have been rather detailed reporting on another the ESA Court Loss (HERE) which is good news for “real” school choice … and these interesting AFP anti-TRUMP mailers we are all receiving (HERE) and the background on those … so today we will go easy and introduce a little educational tool to help folks track candidates for office.
A lot of people don’t know about these tools out there … but if you are going to participate in the political process, knowing what information is available, how to access it, and how to use it … is critical.
As we say, this is the new NFL / NBA!!! If Americans had spent as much time analyzing the blood sport of “politics” as they have been over the past few decades analyzing Fantasy Football / Baseball … we would not be in the mess that we are in today. DON’T BE DISTRACTED by sports or national news we have no influence over … it is all LOCAL and it is far more interesting than any sport game or soap opera!!!
#GetLOCAL!!!
Candidate Tracking
Candidate tracking … it would seem easy, but there are literally thousands of elected officials in South Carolina alone … and an estimated 519,682 elected officials in the entire United States (HERE).
That is A LOT of politicians!!!
And add in all the opposing candidates … it is a TON of people!!!
In South Carolina it is particularly hard to keep track of what offices are up for re-election, when to file, who has filed … etc, etc, etc. Probably by design as lack of information certainly protects the “incumbents” … and our experience is that protecting the “establishment” is job #1 at the State Election Commission (HERE).
But there are some tools we can use, and one such tool is on the SC State Election Commission Website – their Candidate Tracking System.
It’s clunky, but it is better than nothing.
https://scvotes.gov/candidates/
You can search by two different methods, either (#1) by the election itself … or (#2) search all elections by date. You will be able to sort and refine you search results.
If you are on your local Candidate Recruitment Committee trying to track all this information down … or you are just curious to see “who” has filed for what political races … this is a helpful tool.
It is A LOT of pecking around and seeing what you can find … but try it out and let us know what you think!!!
BONUS – HISTORIC ELECTIONS: Another good trick if you are looking what elections might be up for say the Tuesday November 7, 2023 election day … just search historically 4 years ago (as most offices are 4 year terms). What was up for election 4 years ago, will generally be up for election this November.
Search by Election
https://vrems.scvotes.sc.gov/Candidate/SelectElection
Search by Date
https://vrems.scvotes.sc.gov/Candidate/SearchElectionDatehttps://vrems.scvotes.sc.gov/Candidate/SearchElectionDate