Doing online research of
California ballot measures

You'll probably quickly discover the sources that work best for you.

Gather your ballot pamphlets, pen, and thoughts...

1. Read or review the League's suggestions for evaluating ballot measures.

2. Get your copy of your Sample Ballot (the small one). Get ready to mark it with each decision you make!

3. Get your copy of the CA Secretary of State's Official Ballot Pamphlet (the larger booklet). While this information is online, you might prefer to read it in the old-fashioned way. You can refer to it as you do your online research and take notes there, too.

Do your research

Go to Smart Voter's State Propositions Voter Guide. Review the official summary there (the same as your CA Ballot Pamphlet), then locate the following links from your Smart Voter page. These are roughly ordered from the most concise to the most detailed:

1. Read the League of Women Voters nonpartisan analysis. Found on the right hand column of a Smart Voter page or here.

2. Read the California Journal's analysis published by the California Voter Foundation (CVF). Found on the right hand column of a Smart Voter page or here.

3. Read the analysis by the Senate Office of Research. Found in left hand column of a Smart Voter page. While long, this is an excellent source of unbiased official information. If your browser does not support FTP, access the same information through the Los Angeles Times link below.

4. Read or scan the online forums organized and provided by Smart Voter. Experts (and the rest of us) contribute their facts and opinions to some of these controversial measures.

5. To find opinion, supporters, and opponents of a measure, look under "News and Analysis" and "Partisan Groups" on the right hand side of Smart Voter's proposition page. Then come back to this page to use the links below.
   • Additional online supporters or opponents may be found on the California Voter Foundations' Ballot Measures page for props 207 - 218.

   • Additional newspaper analysis and opinion can be found in the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee. The only 2 online dailies with organized proposition information and/or opinion that we could find. (See Smart Voter for the San Jose Mercury News).

   • Who's funding the supporters and opponents of the propositions? Check "Late Contribution Watch". An online service of the California Voter Foundation that tracks last-minute contributions made to California candidates and ballot measures

   • Find home pages of groups with which you often agree (or not!) by searching to see if they have recommendations. For example, you could read recommendations on some ballot measures by the League of Women Voters.

Mark Your Ballot !!

  ...and vote on November 5.

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Last updated: November 3, 1996
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