In a perfect election world, breathless TV commentators would be interrupted with pertinent information on candidates’ positions on the issues. Instead, the news is interrupted with urgent bulletins coming from the latest celebrity trial.

And even when the focus is on politics, the reporting focuses on the latest utterance or allegation. Somehow through the fog of campaign rhetoric, horse-race reporting and the obsession with personalities over issues, voters are supposed to make informed decisions.

Issues make for bad television, because they don’t photograph well and draw poor ratings. Most radio is hopelessly attuned to character assassinations.

So, what’s a discerning voter to do? Project Vote Smart is a good place to start. The project, which began in 1992, is a scrupulously nonpartisan effort to gather biographies, vote histories, campaign finance data, public statements and policy positions.

Current and former board members include Barry Goldwater, George McGovern, Patricia Schroeder and Newt Gingrich. No new board member is brought on until an ideological opposite can be found, too. The result is the perfect antidote to campaign swill.

Want to know how U.S. Sen. Patty Murray voted on war-related issues? They’ve got it. Want to know where Rep. George Nethercutt stands on free trade? Got that, too. Want to know how a particular interest group rates officeholders, or where their financial backing comes from? Got it. Got it.

What’s missing? Demagoguery, petty personal allegations and distortions of the record. Project Vote Smart is a self-defense mechanism for the daily assaults on voter intelligence.

If you’re the type of voter more interested in what a politician has done, rather than what they’ve proclaimed, you’ll approve of this effort.

Project Vote Smart can be found at www.vote-smart.org. Information is also available by calling 1-888-Vote-Smart, and the organization publishes a handbook stuffed with information on the upcoming elections.

The Spokesman-Review is also rolling out extensive issue-oriented coverage. On each Sunday leading up to the election, look for “Election 2004” page, which will carry issue grids, profiles and other information aimed at helping voters.

Also, check the paper’s Web site — www.spokesmanreview.com/elections/2004/ — for a rich data base that includes the latest headlines, in-depth biographies and political reporter Jim Camden’s Spin Control blog.

The blog alone can be used as a launching pad to the Web sites of candidates, political parties, government agencies and campaign contribution data.

No matter where you vote this year, the ballot will be jammed with choices. But information is available. So, the next time the news turns to Kobe or Scott or Michael, or “Fahrenheit 9/11,” or Swift Boat screaming matches, you can tune out and drop in to objective information on this year’s election.