TO: CVF-NEWS FROM: Kim Alexander, CVF President DATE: February 1, 2000 RE: CVF News Round-Up
Hi folks,
In this issue of CVF-NEWS:
* What California voters need to know about the Open Primary
* CVF teams up with California CapitolWeek to inform voters
* California electronic filing program a success!
* California Online Voter Guide to debut next week
* U.S. Supreme Court's campaign finance decision online
* CVF Prez celebrates six years at the helm
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* What California voters need to know about the Open Primary
Next Monday, February 7th, is California's voter registration deadline. Any Californian who has moved or wants to change their party affiliation needs to re-register. Some may be wondering why there is a need to change parties when California has an open primary? Here's the deal: California has an open primary law, which was enacted by the voters via initiative in 1996, and first went into effect with the 1998 statewide election. In that election, voters could cast ballots for any candidate of any party, regardless of the voter's party affiliation.
However, the Democratic and Republican parties objected to the notion that California voters who are not party members would play a role in selecting their parties' nominees for President. So the legislature enacted a new law that directs California election officials to count our ballots in the upcoming primary twice - one count of votes cast by all voters, regardless of party affiliation, and a second count of just those votes cast in the primary by the parties' members. The results of both counts will be announced, but only those votes cast by party members will actually help nominate the candidate of their choice. This is NOT the case for so-called down-ticket races -- your vote will count in congressional and legislative contests regardless of your or the candidate's party affiliation.
To download a voter registration card, visit CVF's new Election 2000 Preview Guide, available at www.calvoter.org.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* CVF teams up with California CapitolWeek to inform voters
I'm pleased to announce that the California Voter Foundation has teamed up with California CapitolWeek on a special TV package called "Election 101". California CapitolWeek is a weekly news program produced by KVIE, Sacramento's PBS affiliate, and is aired on many public TV stations in California as well as the California Channel. "Election 101" is a two-minute segment in the half-hour program featuring Jack Kavanagh, the program host (and the web guru behind www.rtumble.com) and myself, discussing timely and important election issues. This Friday, Feb. 3rd the second of four segments will air, featuring web surfing tips for California voters. For more details on the show, visit www.capitolweek.com.
* California electronic filing program a success!
Have you taken a look at the Secretary of State's web site lately? You will find an astonishing motherlode of information there now, thanks to California's new Online Disclosure program, which requires candidates and other filers to file their campaign finance reports in an electronic format with the Secretary of State. Secretary of State Bill Jones and his staff have done an outstanding job with the initial launch of the new program, and the data for many candidates and ballot measure committees is now conveniently available via the Internet 24 hours a day. Hooray! Making campaign finance data more accessible to the public via the net has been a primary goal of the California Voter Foundation for the past five years. The Secretary of State's staff is working to improve the functions and ability of the new database, and welcome your feedback and input. Check out the new era of campaign finance disclosure for yourself at www.ss.ca.gov (click on the rotating link to "CAL-ACCESS").
* California Online Voter Guide to debut next week
CVF's staff and interns are hard at work creating the sixth edition of the California Online Voter Guide. We plan to debut it next week, and it will feature web links and contact info for California candidates and campaigns. We are also putting together our very popular "Top Ten Contributors" list, which will identify the top contributors for and against every proposition on the California ballot. CVF-NEWS subscribers will be the first to know when our voter guide debuts -- in the meantime, please visit our Election Preview Guide for more information on the upcoming election.
* U.S. Supreme Court's campaign finance decision online
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a campaign contribution limits case known as Nixon vs. Shrink Missouri. This landmark ruling affirmed the right of states to enact contribution limits for state candidates. The decision will likely impact court proceedings around Proposition 208, the California campaign finance reform initiative passed by voters in 1996 and stuck in court ever since. For more the complete ruling, visit: caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&navby=case&vol=000&invol=98-963
* CVF Prez celebrates six years at the helm
Today is my six-year anniversary at the helm of the California Voter Foundation. Way back in 1994 (ancient history on the net!), on February 1, I assumed leadership of a then-defunct non-profit, ready to experiment with new ways to apply new technologies to improve democracy. We've covered a lot of ground in those six years, and CVF's efforts are greatly aided by our thoughtful and committed Board of Directors, my fellow staff members Saskia Mills and Debbie Rotenberg, our generous funders, and of course, all the people for whom we create our online web resources. It has been a challenging and exciting six years, and I'm looking forward to the year ahead as we continue to pioneer new and exciting ways to improve democracy and make politics more accessible to everyone. Thanks to all of your for your support, advice and input over the years -- it has made all the difference!
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This page was first published on February 1, 2000 | Last updated on February 1, 2000
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