Voting Answers

Polling Places/Where Do I Vote? | Issues & Commentary | Keeping Up with the News | Who are my Legislators? | Other Links of Interest

The Central Rappahannock Regional Library encourages you to register to vote and then go to the polls and cast your ballot. You can check the status of your registration here. Here are some resources to help you understand issues, contact your representatives, and exercise your civic muscle. Visit the Virginia State Board of Elections, a place to register and vote in your locality in Virginia. To keep up to date with pending elections, visit the State Board of Elections List of Candidates.

Visit Project Vote Smart, a non-partisan website providing access to candidate information including past voting records and more on party platforms.

Polling Places/Where Should I Vote?

Registrars' offices are located in the City of Fredericksburg and the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland. You must register to vote in the county of your residence. You are eligible to vote if you are a citizen of the United States, a legal resident of Virginia, at least 18 years of age (or you will be by the next general election), and/or have had the right to vote restored subsequent to a felony conviction or adjudication of mental incompetence. Read about the locations of the polling places below for each county:

Issues & Commentary

You can track issues and commentary in the mainstream news or you might use one of these sites to focus on political commentary.

State

Nationally

  • Common Cause: A nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen's lobbying organization promoting open, honest, and accountable government. Track contributions, political news, and elections. 
  • The Project on Government Oversight (POGO): Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms. POGO’s investigations into corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of interest achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government. 
  • Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI): A program of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, develops free education resources designed to assist civics teachers, and encourage students to participate in the political process.

Globally

  • Global Perspectives on Democracy (GDP): Established in March 2009, the Global Perspectives on Democracy (GPD) program of the Center for Politics is designed to foster citizen-to-citizen dialogue between the United States and other nations.

Keeping Up with the News

Find a news channel or paper that speaks to your interests. While the "press" is often tauted as the "liberal media," you'll be able to find a range of voices from conservative to something more liberal.

  • CNN: Ubiquitous headline news channel.
  • Fox News: Quite the media conglomerate, available on network, cable, and the Web.
  • The Free Lance-Star: Local paper's coverage of events in the news. 
  • National Public Radio: NPR is an internationally acclaimed producer and distributor of noncommercial news, talk, and entertainment programming. A privately supported, not-for-profit, membership organization, NPR serves more than 750 independently operated, noncommercial public radio stations. Each member station serves local listeners with a distinctive combination of national and local programming.
  • Richmond Times-Dispatch: Free registration to read stories from the State's capital.
  • The Washington Post: The newspaper of the nation's capital, nation, and the world.
  • The Washington Times: The Times bills itself as America's newspaper.

Who are my Legislators?

  • Congress.gov: Federal legislative information on the Internet. Find out what's being considered in Congress now or in the past, text of public laws and bills, voting records, and more. Check out the Help page for tips on navigating the site. 
  • The Federal Register: The official daily publication of rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. An opportunity to keep informed about public comment deadlines as well as other public notices of the U.S. 
  • Government Agencies and Elected Officials: find out who represents you and who is in charge of programs in agencies. 
  • Virginia Code and Laws: State legislative information. 
  • Who's My Legislator?: Enter your street address, city, and zip to find out who represents you. Includes a handy email link to send them a message.

Other Links of Interest

  • Asia Pacific Islander American Vote: encourages and promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Islander Americans in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels.
  • Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets: Lists contributions for political candidates beyond the presidential races. Information is drawn from publicly available information filed with the Federal Election Commission.
  • League of Women Voters: Non-partisan information on the democratic process for Virginia. See their DemocracyNet (DNet), an interactive online voter guide with nonpartisan, state-specific election information
  • NAACP: Encouraging African-American participation in the democratic process
  • UnidosUS: Encouraging Latino American participation in the democratic process
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