It’s not easy being a voter these days.

In many cases, voters have little or no personal knowledge of the candidates running for office, even a local office. That means they have to depend on what other people tell them about the candidates and their qualifications.

There certainly is plenty of information out there, but not all of it is solid, factual information. In fact, most of the information seems slanted or incomplete. It’s understandable that people supporting a candidate will present facts in a selective way that probably doesn’t tell the whole story.

The problem has become so great that a number of sources have cropped up to try to help voters separate campaign fact from fiction. Major newspapers and news services are taking extra steps to sort through the claims and charges and get to the bottom of an issue. An example of that is a story that ran on page 8A of Thursday’s Journal-World, evaluating various statements made during Tuesday’s debate between vice presidential candidates.

Online services like factcheck.org, operated by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania are an ongoing source of information about candidate ads and statements. Some of the information they dig up in an effort to set the record straight may even surprise the candidates themselves.

The same issue of fact-checking also affects local and state races. Ads touting candidates in the two congressional districts that include Lawrence are resorting to veiled accusations accompanied by dark, unflattering photos of their opponents.

A group that has organized to try to oust Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin sent out a letter last week saying, “Recent media polling indicates that the public overwhelmingly supports her removal by percentage of 74% to 14% with 12% undecided.” The letter doesn’t tell you that the figures come from an online poll conducted by Channel 9 News in Kansas City. Not only are online polls completely unscientific, most of the people responding to this poll probably don’t even live in Douglas County.

What’s a voter to do? We are told we should educate ourselves and cast intelligent, fact-based votes, but where do we get that information? It’s possible, but it isn’t easy. To get a clear picture of candidates on the ballot probably requires a voter to take advantage of a variety of sources, including the news media, online sources, campaign materials and any opportunities to have one-on-one contact with a candidate either through a personal appearance or an online conversation.

Voting is a serious responsibility. Getting eligible residents registered and to the polls is the first step, but voters also must take on the responsibility of casting informed ballots. That usually means not taking every piece of information at face value. If it doesn’t sound right, check it out. Voting isn’t — and shouldn’t be — an easy job, but it’s the least we can do to support our democratic society.