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…
