CVF-NEWS

Please give to CVF to support better elections!

December 2, 2014

Hi Folks,

On this day and season of giving, please consider making a tax-deductible gift to the California Voter Foundation.

For more than two decades, CVF has ensured California's voting process better serves voters.

We've worked to make sure the public has access to reliable and timely nonpartisan information about campaigns and elections, to safeguard California's voting process so that election results can be publicly verified, and to advance the Internet as a tool to bring transparency and public accountability to the role of money in politics.

Here is a review of CVF's 2014 achievements and our top priorities for 2015, which you can support with your generous year-end gift.

1) Informing voters about top donors to proposition campaigns:

Over the past year, CVF has worked successfully in the California Legislature to enact new laws (SB 27 and SB 844) that require California's Secretary of State and Fair Political Practices Commission to identify and report online the top donors and total amounts raised in ballot proposition campaigns so that voters can make more informed choices.

This November marked the first time top proposition donor lists were made available to voters via a government agency. Additional tools will be available in 2016 and CVF will be working to ensure these voter resources are successfully implemented. CVF is also joining with other groups to improve Cal-Access, the state's campaign disclosure web site.

2) Improving California's vote-by-mail process:

The rising popularity of vote-by-mail balloting has brought with it a rise in the number of mail ballots cast that go uncounted, a rate that is among the highest of all the states in the nation.

In 2014, CVF released a landmark report, "Improving California's Vote-by-Mail Process: A Three-County Study". The report identified the top reasons why some vote-by-mail ballots go uncounted in the three counties studied (late arrival, no envelope signature or signature doesn't match) and recommended changes to reduce the number of unsuccessful mail ballots. One of these recommendations, to allow ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within three days of the election to be counted, was enacted in 2014 (SB 27) and will take effect next year.

Many more improvements are needed and CVF is committed to working with local election officials and California's new Secretary of State to reduce the number of uncounted mail ballots in our state.

3) Restoring election funding to California's state budget:

CVF is also working with election officials and other nonprofit groups to restore funding in the state budget to support mail balloting and other election programs that have been defunded since 2011. Restoring these funds can result in tens of millions of dollars being made available to California counties to support local election operations - resources needed to address California's declining voter turnout.

We hope we can count on you to contribute to this important work to increase voters' access to information about proposition donors, improve California's vote-by-mail process, and restore election funding to the state budget.

With your generous contribution, CVF can continue its long, non-partisan tradition of research, advocacy, outreach and election process oversight.

To make a gift, click on the "Give to CVF" button to donate online, or simply write a check to "California Voter Foundation" and mail it to:

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Follow CVF on Twitter!

CVF uses Twitter to help our audience connect with important news and developments in the field of voting and elections, and also to offer live tweeting from conferences and events. An archive of tweets and links to relevant stories is available at

https://twitter.com/#!/kimalex3.

Follow @kimalex3 on Twitter to get CVF news tips, opinion and analysis from CVF's president.

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The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization promoting and applying the responsible use of technology to improve the democratic process. CVF-NEWS is a free, electronic newsletter featuring news and updates about the California Voter Foundation's projects and activities.

Contact the California Voter Foundation by:

phone - (916) 441-2494
web - http://www.calvoter.org
U.S. Mail - P.O. Box 189277, Sacramento, CA 95818

Support CVF's work with a tax-deductible contribution! Learn more at http://www.calvoter.org/donate

 

 

 

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This page was first published on October 31, 2014 | Last updated on December 11, 2014
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