Today’s Election News Roundup

Ill. Sen. Barack Obama has opened up a 7-point lead over Ariz. Sen. John McCain, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll published Thursday. "This is not good news for McCain. The race was tightening for a few days but now it is going back the other way," pollster John Zogby said. Reuters analyzes the numbers for a variety of demographics polled. 

The 30-minute campaign ad aired by Sen. Obama on Wednesday drew nearly 34 million viewers, according to a Neilson survey.

According to a recent New York Times / CBS poll, voters are wary of Sen. McCain’s campaign because of his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Fifty-nine percent of voters polled do not believe Palin is prepared to lead the country.

Sen. McCain plans to release numerous campaign ads heading into the final days of the election season. Although McCain has been outspent by his rival throughout the race, he has saved enough money to keep apace with Obama's ad campaign in battleground states over the next few days.

Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Sen. McCain on the campaign trail in Ohio yesterday, as the Republican candidate asked voters to contribute “emergency donations.” Despite his lag in the polls, McCain remains optimistic, telling Fox News, “We are going to win this election but I understand that it is still an uphill fight, and I have got to be the underdog right up until the polls open. And I am serious about that—that's when we do best."

If the race is close between the two candidates, lawyers in Ohio will be big winners, The New York Times reports. Ohio uses a provisional ballot system and if voting problems or a close election occur, lawmakers are likely to be called in for extensive help. 

The findingDulcinea 2008 Election Web Guide highlights the best online resources relating to the candidates and the election.

Project Vote Smart describes the process of nominating a presidential candidate, with concise descriptions of the convention, caucuses, primaries and the process of awarding delegates.

An overview of the role of delegates and superdelegates is presented by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Daily coverage of the 2008 Election is gathered from media sources across the political spectrum and presented by Real Clear Politics to provide up-to-the-minute coverage. The site publishes daily political transcripts, including addresses on the campaign trail and withdrawal speeches. It also constantly updates and compares polling reports from Rasmussen, Gallup, CNN, Pew Research, and other major media sources. Additionally, the site provides a 2008 Primary Delegate Count, which presents the delegate counts of each candidate.

NPR provides an interactive calendar of past primaries. Headline stories that detail the events of the primaries and campaigns accompany the primary map. In addition, NPR hosts a “National Delegates Total,” with an ongoing count of delegates won by each candidate.

Minnesota Public Radio’s online “President Survey” matches the political convictions of respondents with the candidates’ policies in order to help voters make an informed choice come election day.

The New York Times publishes a constant stream of articles from the Associated Press. These concise AP stories cover new developments on the campaign trail.

As election momentum picks up, the Times of London offers British readers a glossary of campaign jargon that will be of use to many Americans as well.

OpenSecrets.org compares the total campaign donations for each candidate and looks into the war chests to see where the money comes from.