Quote:
Originally Posted by davidthefat
Well Im not of age yet to vote (18 in 1 year and 2 months) but I have a serious question about voting. How/where do I get the real information about the proposed propositions and cadidates? All you hear on TV and on line is bottom line propaganda. Well you never really know a candidates' real motives but propositions must be easier to interprete. I personally did not like elections; there are too much "mud slinging". I do not know if it is really democracy at work in these elections, but more like "who can appeal to the public better through the media".
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In California, the Secretary of State publishes a
voter information guide for the propositions. This is prepared by multiple people, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and Legislative Analysts. It is mailed to every household with a person who is registered to vote.
For each proposition, it includes a summary of the proposition, history related to issue that the proposition covers, potential impacts of the proposition, arguments for and against the proposition, and the text of the proposition. I find that taking the time to slog through the legalese in the proposition text is often very valuable. One thing to look for in the impacts section is the assumptions that are explicitly and implicitly made, and whether they make sense.