Research Guides > Social Sciences > Election Statistics (U.S.)

Election Statistics (U.S.)

This guide lists recommended sources of statistical information on U.S. elections available in Gelman Library or on the World Wide Web.

For related information, see the guides on Public Opinion Polls and Political Science.

This guide contains the following sections:

Subject Librarian: Dolsy Smith
Location: Gelman Library
E-mail: dsmith@gwu.edu
Phone: 202-994-2250
Updated: August 2007
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Best Places to Start
Recent & Historical Elections
Electoral College
Redistricting

Data Sets (Downloadable)
Maps, Charts, Atlases, etc.
Finding Articles
For More Information

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The URL for this page is http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/guides/social/election.html

Best Places to Start

Online Sources

American National Election Studies (ANES).: Location: http://www.electionstudies.org; Ongoing studies of the American electorate. Provides data and statistics on voting, public opinion, and political participation in the U.S. from 1948 to the present.

CQ Library.: Location: ALADIN Research Portal (available only to current GW students, faculty and staff); Select the CQ Voting and Elections Collection. Provides data, analysis, explanations, and historical material on U.S. voting and elections as well as information on voters, demographics, political parties and campaigns.

CQ Politics.com.: Location: http://www.cqpolitics.com; Up-to-date information on Congressional elections and forecasts for 2008, along with election news.

Voting and Registration Statistics.: Location: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting.html; Information on voting and registration with various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Includes historical data.

Print Sources

Almanac of American Politics. Annual.

Location: GELMAN READY REFERENCE JK 271 .B343. Latest in ready reference (2004), earlier editions in the stacks.; Election results from the state to national level. Arranged alphabetically by state.
America at the Polls.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK 524 .A73; Two-volume comprehensive work covering presidential elections 1920-1956 and 1960-2000.
America Votes.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK 1967 .A8. Latest in reference, earlier editions in the stacks.; Detailed statistics covering gubernatorial, congressional, and presidential elections.
CQ's Guide to U.S. Elections.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK 1967 .C662 2001; Coverage of presidential, congressional, and state elections, with historical data and maps.
Vital Statistics on American Politics. 1988 - present.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK 274 .V57. Latest in reference, earlier editions in the stacks.; Provides election results combined with other variables from 1789 through present.

See also the following LC call number ranges for election statistics:

Presidential JK 518-524

Congress JK 1010-1041

General JK 1965-67

Research Guides &

Bibliographies
JK 1976

Recent & Historical Elections

American National Election Studies Data Sourcebook, 1952-1986.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK 1967 .M54 1989; Sociological and political analysis of voting patterns.
Gubernatorial Elections: 1787 - 1997.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK 2447 .G76 1998; State-by-state election data.
Historical Statistics of the United States.: Location: ALADIN Research Portal; In Print: GELMAN REFERENCE HA 202 .H57 2006; See v. 5, p. 141 for article and tables.
Historical Voting Tables - Congressional Elections.: Location: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting/vote-htabtcon.html; Demographics of Congressional elections.
Mayoral Election Results Database.: Location: http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/elections/99elections.asp; Sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Search for election data by city, state, party, year (1999 - present) or candidate name.
National Conference of State Legislatures.: Location: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/elect/elect.htm; Compilations of data on statewide elections.
National Association of State Election Directors.: Location: http://www.nased.org/membership.htm; Provides links to each state election office where results of elections should be available. Coverage will vary by state.
Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives: Election Information.: Location: http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/; Provides links to election data (current and historic), congressional vacancies, apportionment figures and other election information.
A Statistical History of the American Electorate.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK1967 .R87 2001; Provides extensive statistical tables and analytical articles addressing presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections from 1789-1999.
A Statistical History of the American Presidential Elections.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK 1967 .P4 1963; Statistics on presidential elections from 1789 to 1960, including third parties. Data organized by state.

Electoral College

Electoral College.: Location: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/index.html; Information and historical data on the electoral college from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Redistricting

Congressional Districts in the 2000s.: Location: GELMAN REFERENCE JK 1341 .C65 2003; Congressional Districts in the 1990s. JK 1341 .C64 1993; Congressional Districts in the 1980s. JK 1341 .C63 1983; Election results tabulated by Congressional district, with detailed profiles of each district.
Government Redistricting Web Sites.: Location: http://www.lib.purdue.edu/govdocs/redistricting.html; Provides links to sites providing redistricting data including links to individual state redistricting web sites.
The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts, 1789-1983.: Location: GW: GELMAN Ref Atlas Case G 1201.F9 M3 1982; Outlines of the Congressional districts in all 50 states for every session of Congress (through 1983).
Redistricting Data Program: U.S. Census: Location: http://www.census.gov/rdo/; Provides access to the Census redistricting data used by the 50 states in redrawing districts of the United States Congress and state legislatures as required by Public Law 94-171.

Data Sets (Downloadable)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).: Location: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/; Compendium of downloadable data in the social sciences. Access to some data restricted to on-campus users. First-time GW users must register on the web site before downloading data. Datasets relevant to elections include polls and surveys of voting behavior. Search by keyword.
American National Election Studies (ANES).: Location: http://www.electionstudies.org; Data sets for U.S. elections and public opinion from 1948 to the present.
Road of American Democracy (ROAD).: Location: http://www.hmdc.harvard.edu/ROAD/; Data include election returns as well as socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the American public at low levels of geographic aggregation. Covers every state in the U.S. from 1984 through 1990 (including some off-year elections).

Maps, Charts, Atlases, etc.

Congressional Districts of the 108th Congress of the United States (January 2003 to 2005).: Print location: Reference Map Cases G3701.F7 2003 .U5; URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3701f.ct001064
Student's Atlas of American Presidential Elections, 1789-1996.: Location: REFERENCE JK 524.I85 1997; Graphical history with commentary.
U.S. Presidential Election Maps: 1860-1996.: Location: http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/elections/maps/; Geographical distribution of popular and electoral votes.
David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. 1789 - present.: Location:http://www.uselectionatlas.org/; Maps of election results and predictions for presidential, gubernatorial, and Congressional elections.
U.S. Geological Survey: Maps of Congressional Districts.: Location: http://nationalatlas.gov/natlas/Natlasstart.asp; Current Congressional districts (and a wide variety of other data). To start, select the Boundaries tab from the menu on the right, and then check the box for Congressional Districts. Then click Redraw Map.

Finding Articles

CQ's Resource Guide to Modern Elections: An Annotated Bibliography, 1960-1996: Location: REFERENCE JK1976 .M37 2000; Provides an annotated bibliography of scholarly articles and other sources discussing elections from 1960-1996.

America: History and Life. 1964 - present.: Location: ALADIN; Covers articles in scholarly journals and books on the history of the United States and Canada.
National Journal Policy Central. 1979 - present.: Location: ALADIN; A collection of resources on U.S. politics and policy.
Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). 1915 - present.: Location: ALADIN; Provides indexing and abstracting of public policy sources including articles, government documents, books, and other publications.
Sociological Abstracts. 1952 - present.: Location: ALADIN; Provides indexing and abstracting of sociological literature. Although main focus is sociology, subject coverage includes voting behavior, turnout and other sociological aspects of elections.
WorldWide Political Science Abstracts. 1975 - present.: Location: ALADIN; Provides indexing and abstracting of the major political science journals.

For More Information

For more information, call the Reference Desk at 202-994-6048 or use the E-mail Reference Form. This page is maintained by Dolsy Smith.

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Last modified: Monday, November 26, 2007 11:58:12 AM

Election Statistics (U.S.)

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Best Places to Start

Online Sources

Print Sources

Recent & Historical Elections document.write("<img style=\"position:absolute;left:543 px;\" alt=\"Ask a librarian\" src=\"/gelman/guides/asklib.gif\" border=\"0\">");

Electoral College document.write("<img style=\"position:absolute;left:543 px;\" alt=\"Ask a librarian\" src=\"/gelman/guides/asklib.gif\" border=\"0\">");

Redistrictingdocument.write("<img style=\"position:absolute;left:543 px;\" alt=\"Ask a librarian\" src=\"/gelman/guides/asklib.gif\" border=\"0\">");

Data Sets (Downloadable)document.write("<img style=\"position:absolute;left:543 px;\" alt=\"Ask a librarian\" src=\"/gelman/guides/asklib.gif\" border=\"0\">");

Maps, Charts, Atlases, etc.document.write("<img style=\"position:absolute;left:543 px;\" alt=\"Ask a librarian\" src=\"/gelman/guides/asklib.gif\" border=\"0\">");

Finding Articlesdocument.write("<img style=\"position:absolute;left:543 px;\" alt=\"Ask a librarian\" src=\"/gelman/guides/asklib.gif\" border=\"0\">");

For More Informationdocument.write("<img style=\"position:absolute;left:543 px;\" alt=\"Ask a librarian\" src=\"/gelman/guides/asklib.gif\" border=\"0\">");