AP16:134
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2016
CONTACT:
Secretary of State’s Office, Sam Mahood (916) 653-6575
MapLight, Alec Saslow, (510) 868-0894
Secretary of State Alex Padilla and MapLight Launch New Tool for California Voters
SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced the launch of a new, free online tool available to voters as we approach the November 8 election.
The new “Quick Guide to Props” provides voters a helpful list of the top ten campaign contributions, funding totals for each and every of the 17 statewide propositions, as well as brief nonpartisan analysis. The campaign finance elements are dynamic and will be updated daily. The new tool was developed in partnership with MapLight, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, a nonpartisan research organization that tracks money in politics.
To view the Quick Guide to Props visit: http://quickguidetoprops.sos.ca.gov/
“With 17 statewide propositions on the November ballot, every voter is a lawmaker. California voters have some big decisions to make in the weeks ahead. This new tool can help,” Secretary of State Padilla said. “This is an example of how technology can help us share more information with voters,” Padilla added.
“The “Quick Guide to Props” merges critical campaign finance data with brief nonpartisan analysis to help inform voters,” Padilla said. “Including campaign finance information gives voters a clearer view of who is funding these measures and how much money is being spent by each side,” Padilla added.
“Voters are barraged with an overwhelming amount of contrasting messages from campaigns during election season,” said Daniel G. Newman, Co-Founder and President of MapLight. “The “Quick Guide to Props” provides clear and concise information to help Californians cut through the noise.”
The Secretary of State previously partnered with MapLight to create Power Search, a campaign finance search engine to help the public more easily review the source, recipient, and amount of state-level campaign contributions to candidates and independent expenditures from 2001 to the present.
Information available in the Quick Guide to Props includes:
- Summaries of each ballot measure written by the Attorney General’s office.
- Official fundraising information depicted in bar charts of the total fundraising by all committees primarily formed for and against a proposition. This information is based on data from Power Search and analysis by the Secretary of State’s Political Reform Division.
- The 10 largest contributions during the 2015 – 2016 election cycle to committees formed primarily for and against each proposition.
- What a “yes” and “no” vote means for each proposition, written by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office.
- Arguments for and against each proposition submitted by the proposition’s proponents and opponents.
###
Follow the California Secretary of State on Twitter and Facebook.
