Research Guides: POL 119a: Red States/Blue States: Data & Statistical Sources

Think Tanks & Research Institutes

Center for the Study of President and Congress'
CSPC's mission is to apply the lessons of history to address today’s political challenges; develop real-world strategic policy solutions by convening representatives from government, academia, and the private sector; and educate the next generation of leaders.
Open Secrets
Research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.
Center for American Politics & Citizenships from University of Maryland
The Center for American Politics and Citizenship is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institution that addresses issues of American governance.
Pew Research Center
Pew conducts public opinion polling, demographic studies, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. It does not take positions on policy issues.

Dave Leip's Historical Atlas

Presidential Data
Data files for presidential election voting patterns, 1968 - 2018. Updates pending. Files are in .xls.
US House Election Data
Data files for US House elections 2016 - present. Updates pending. Files are in .xls.
US Senate Election Data
Data files for US Senate elections, 2016 - present. Updates pending Files are in .xls.
US Governor Election
Data files for US gubernatorial elections 2016 - present. Updates pending. Files are in .xls.

Social Explorer

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Create maps and reports to illustrate, analyze, and understand demography and social change. Data sets include the US Census from 1790-2010, the American Community Survey, the Religious Congregations and Membership Survey, carbon emissions data from the Vulcan Project, and more.

Data & Statistical Sources

iPoll Databank - Roper Center for Public Opinion Research This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive, up-to-date source for US nationwide public opinion, full-text searchable. Organized at the question level, the tools and functions available to sift through nearly a half million questions asked on national public opinion surveys, 1935 to present.
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) This link opens in a new window
ICPSR is the world's largest collection of digital social science data. Find qualitative and quantitative datasets, accompanying codebooks, publication lists and more. Formats include SPSS, Stata and Excel. Access to this resource from off campus requires that users initially register for an account while on campus.

Working/studying remotely? Request access to ICPSR data and resources by contacting icpsr-help@umich.edu. When you do, please let them know that you are a current student, faculty, or staff member at Brandeis University, and be sure to use your @brandeis.edu email address.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Provides current statistical data and comparisons for a wide-ranging and continually updated array of topics, using both publicly accessible and proprietary sources. The chief types of data are related to marketing, demographics, and government information. Sources include market forecasts, dossiers, and industry reports.

American National Election Studies
ANES conducts national surveys of the American electorate and conducts development work through pilot studies.
General Social Survey (GSS)
The GSS has been a reliable source of data to help researchers, students, and journalists monitor and explain trends in American behaviors, demographics, and opinions.
Voting and Registration from the US Census
In election years, the Current Population Survey collects data on reported voting and registration, and later reports stats by turnout, age, race and origin. Reports, data, and graphics from the US Census.
Pew Research Center Datasets
Datasets from Pew Research surveys. Each is identified by the name of the survey, and below each dataset are links to the reports released from that data. In some cases, reports draw from multiple datasets.
Typically, survey data are released five months after the reports are issued.
Voter Turnout Data
Dr. Michael McDonald, an Associate Professor at George Mason University, provides national and state voter turnout statistics from 1980 to the present.
270 to Win
270towin.com is an interactive Electoral College map for 2016 and a history of Presidential elections in the United States. Since electoral votes are generally allocated on an "all or none" basis by state, the election of a U.S President is about winning the popular vote in enough states to achieve 270 electoral votes, a majority of the 538 that are available.
Center for American Women in Politics
Source of scholarly research and current data about American women’s political participation. This site presents data and analysis of women's voting behavior, including statistics on turnout and the gender gap in voting.
Office of the Clerk of the US House of Representatives
Official vote counts from 1920 to the present for presidential and congressional elections compiled by the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. This site also contains links to election resources found on the websites of the Census Bureau, National Archives, Federal Election Commission, and state election offices.
Elections Performance Index
From the Pew Research Center, the Elections Performance Index, or EPI, is the first comprehensive assessment of election administration in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Using data from 17 key indicators, the EPI makes it possible to compare election administration policy and performance across the states and from one election cycle to the next. The index presented here is based on the 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014 elections.
The Manifesto Project
The Manifesto Project provides the scientific community with parties’ policy positions derived from a content analysis of parties’ electoral manifestos. It covers over 1000 parties from 1945 until today in over 50 countries on five continents.

American Presidency Project

American Presidency Project
The American Presidency Project (APP), non-profit and non-partisan, is the leading source of presidential documents on the internet. Our archives contain 118,796 documents and are growing rapidly. Find data, graphs and other information about every presidential election in American history.