California Online Voter Guide

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Do you know who’s running for supervisor in your county? Do you know what district you live in? And just what number was that proposition you’ve been hearing so much about…? The California Voter Foundation has seized on the potential of the Internet to bring more — and better informed — voters to the ballot boxes with its 1996 California Online Voter Guide.

The CVF provides clear-cut descriptions of just how senators and supervisors are elected and summaries of ballot measures. Each section is rife with links to candidates and outside resources like the State Ballot Pamphlet — which features the full text and fiscal analysis of each proposition.

CVF’s Digital Sunlight project lobbies for increasing the amount of information candidates and committees must file electronically. Its 1995 San Francisco Online Voter Guide — the first campaign contribution/expenditures database available on the Web before an election — can serve as “a model for others who want to create voter guides for their own communities.” Imagine the possibilities…

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate