Want to know what politics is like in each state?  Maybe even each congressional district?

These two biennially-published sources provide non-partisan, authoritative analysis of political issues in each U.S.state, down to the Congressional District level. In the process, they identify and provide commentary on important political figures in each state, as well as recent election data.

Reliable sources for getting to authoritative information:

• Book of the States
• State Blue Books and Encyclopedias
• National Survey of State Laws (Law Library subscription via Hein Online)
• State Constitutions, Statutes, and Codes  (Cornell University)
• Administrative Rules  (Rules made by state agencies.)
• Open States  (tools for tracking legislation and legislators)
• State Agency Database  (American Library Association project)
• Law by Source: State  (Cornell University)
• State Legislature Web Sites  (Congress.gov)
• State Court Web Sites  (National Center for State Courts)
• Open Government Guide  ("every state's open records and open meetings laws")

These sites contain links to all state government sites in the U.S.

• GovEngine.com
• State & Local Government on the Net

Most of these sites are advocacy and research organizations serving professionals working in state government and all are excellent sources on state government and issues.   Several of these organizations, especially CSG, NASS, and NCSL, provide a great deal of information on elections and voting.

A Google-based search engine enables you to search the contents of all these sites.

• American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
• Center for State and Local Government Excellence
• Council of Chief State School Officers
• Council on State Governments  (CSG)
• Education Commission of the States
• Federation of Tax Administrators
• Governors Highway Safety Association
• National Association of Attorneys General
• National Association of Secretaries of State  (NASS)
• National Association of State Budget Officers
• National Association of State Chief Information Officers
• National Association of State Election Directors
• National Center for State Courts 
• National Conference of State Legislatures  (NCSL)
• National Governors' Association
• OpenSecrets
• Stateline.org  (Pew Center on the States)