CVF Helps Voters Access Information on Local Measures

New Directory of Local Measures debuts online

Davis, CA -- Today the California Voter Foundation (CVF) published a new Internet resource to help voters learn about the 470* local measures appearing on California ballots this November.

CVF's new Directory of Local Measures provides a county-by-county summary of local measures and can be accessed through CVF's California Online Voter Guide, at

http://www.calvoter.org/2002

"Voters are often hard-pressed to find information about local measures, which usually receive far less attention than the race for Governor and other contests at the top of the ballot," said CVF president Kim Alexander. "Local measures often have a great impact on Californians' quality of life. Fortunately there is a growing amount of information on the Internet about local measures. CVF's Directory of Local Measures helps voters access that information."

CVF contacted all 58 California county election agencies to determine the total number of local measures appearing on the ballot, and to find out whether counties are publishing information online about their local measures. CVF's new directory provides links to resources identified through the survey, such as the text of measures, analyses, and pro/con arguments.

"Generally, we found that the most populous counties in California are also the most likely to provide voting information online," said CVF executive director Saskia Mills, adding that the "smaller counties that don't have online election information are typically very helpful over the phone." CVF's directory includes phone numbers for the county agencies that don't maintain extensive election web sites.

23 California counties are also partnering with Smart Voter, an Internet-based voter education project sponsored by the League of Women Voters of California. The site, online at www.smartvoter.org, features detailed information about all the races and measures on a ballot from participating counties and candidates.

CVF identified 54* county-wide measures on the November ballot, which are highlighted in the new directory; an additional 416* municipal and special district measures are before voters as well.

In addition to the Directory of Local Measures, CVF's California Online Voter Guide also features information about statewide propositions and candidates for state and federal offices. Additionally, the California Voter Foundation will soon debut political district maps to help familiarize voters with their new districts.

The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advancing technology to improve democracy. CVF’s Directory of Local Measures is made possible through a grant from The James Irvine Foundation. More information about CVF's projects and activities is available at www.calvoter.org.

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* Note: CVF originally reported a total of 455 local measures, including 53 county-wide and 402 municipal and special district measures; the numbers changed after we learned about additional measures on the ballot in Contra Costa county, that were not included in the original totals. We apologize for the error.












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This page was first published on October 22, 2002 | Last updated on October 24, 2002
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