October 4, 2016 – Voter’s Edge California, a comprehensive online voter guide in English and Spanish, launched today to provide voters with unbiased information on candidates and ballot measures down to the local level. California voters looking for information ahead of the November 8 election can use Voter’s Edge California to explore information on candidates’ experience, priorities, endorsements and top donors as well as ballot measure explanations and campaign funding.
Voter’s Edge California is a joint project of MapLight and the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund (LWVCEF).
To use the tool, voters simply type in their home address and Voter’s Edge California returns a personalized page with all the contests that will appear on the user's ballot, supplemented with endorsements, funding sources, editorials, news articles, summary information, biographies and more. Voters can find their polling place as well as mark their choices and print their ballot to bring to the polls or share with family and friends via social media.
"This election, we are subject to an avalanche of manipulative and inaccurate advertising," said Melissa Breach, Executive Director of the LWVCEF. "Voter's Edge California provides unbiased, easy to understand information that voters can trust on Election Day."
With 17 statewide measures on the ballot, voters will be asked to weigh in on a wide variety of issues, including the death penalty, prescription drug pricing, income taxes, tobacco taxes, marijuana legalization and condoms in pornographic films. According to the Los Angeles Times, California’s printed, statewide voter guide mailed to each voter will be a record-setting 224 pages long.
"Voter's Edge California provides voters with information in a way that is efficient and accessible - even from their mobile phones," said Daniel G. Newman, Co-Founder and President of MapLight. "We are thrilled to help voters make informed decisions about their ballot and increase civic engagement in the 2016 elections."
For the California primary election in June, Voter's Edge California reached nearly half a million users. In an online survey, more than 90 percent of respondents indicated that Voter’s Edge was useful to them, with nearly three fourths reporting that they would vote for more offices and leave fewer blank choices on their ballots because of information they found on Voter’s Edge California.
During the 2014 midterm elections, less than one third of California's eligible population voted and only six states saw lower turnout rates. For the 2016 general election, California residents must register to vote by October 24 for the November 8 general election, with voting by mail beginning on October 10.
Voter's Edge California offers free partnerships to media outlets and community organizations interested in expanding local and state election information in their communities, including co-branded voter guides on partners' websites. For more information on partnering with Voter's Edge California, view the Voter’s Edge California partnership video and contact Alec Saslow at alec@maplight.org or 720-319-4948.
About Voter's Edge California
Voter's Edge California, a joint project of the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and MapLight, was made possible by generous support from The James Irvine Foundation. The national expansion of the Voter's Edge project was also generously supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Kaphan Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.