The mid-term elections are less than two weeks away. Normally, mid-terms are not very exciting, but many political observers are calling this election one of the most important in our lifetime. For partisans on both sides, it’s a referendum on the Trump administration and the Republican party that supports him. We have reported on efforts by local residents to register and organize Democratic voters in some of the seven competitive California Congressional races, to win a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. Those efforts are continuing with even greater intensity as the election gets closer and polls show many races are very close.
November 6 is also a California general election with some very important state and local issues on the ballot that deserve our attention as well. In fact, it’s a huge ballot this year, as Californians will elect a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer and Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner, Members of the State Board of Equalization which administers the states taxes, our US Senator, members of the US House of Representatives as well as State Senators and Assembly members. There are also dozens of judges on the ballot, as well as 12 statewide propositions, one county measure, two city measures and one Los Angeles Unified School measure. It’s a lot.
Fortunately, there’s a lot of sources of information for voters to consult to learn more about the candidates and the measures on the ballot. We aren’t experts but we have found some of the following sources that we thought we’d share with you. (The Buzz has also also published stories on Proposition 6 and Measure W.)
CALmatters 2018 Voter Guide. CALmatters is a non-profit news organization based in Sacramento committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. We like the short videos in their guide that explain all the propositions in a minute, called “Props-in-a-Minute” video series.
89.3KPCC Human Voter Guide KPCC, our local public radio station, offers a human voter guide on its website LAist, where readers can ask questions that will be answered by political reporter Mary Plummer, from now until Election Day.
Los Angeles Times Endorsements – We always check these out. Even if you don’t always agree with the conclusions, they are generally well researched and worth reading.
California Voter Guide – The online version of the state official voter guide.
If you prefer an in-person discussion, we recommend attending the Ebell of Los Angeles‘s panel discussion Thursday evening, October 25 at 6 pm. It’s a nonpartisan event, organized by the Los Angeles League of Women Voters, to discuss the initiatives on the ballot. You can email the Ebell for reservations or click on the image below to register online. The LWV voter guide can be found here.
As election day nears, we will update this story with more voter guides. If you find a good one, please feel free to send it our way or post it in the comments at the bottom of this story.
