Voting and Elections

Register to Vote

• California: Visit the Secretary of State's website
• Other States: Visit Rock the Vote
• California guidelines regarding where students are entitled to vote: click here

Official Election Information

• California Secretary of State - Elections and Voter Information
  
  • Voter Information Guide - from current or most recent election
  • Prior Voter Information Guides
• City and County of San Francisco - Department of Elections
  • Voter Information Pamphlet  - from current or most recent election
  • Prior Voter Information Pamphlets
  • Polling Place Look-up and Sample Ballot
• Other local jurisdictions
  • Alameda County
  • Contra Costa County
  • San Mateo County
  • Marin County

Ballot Proposition Databases

• California Ballot Measures Databases from UC Hastings College of the Law Library  [Note: this database is not currently available, but is expected to be online again in July 2012.]
• San Francisco Ballot Propositions Database  from San Francisco Public Library
• Ballot Measures for Other States from Project VoteSmart
• See also the research guide called Finding Information on Ballot Measures

Voter Education

• Smart Voter an excellent source of non-partisan election information from the League of Women Voters.
• Project VoteSmart provides biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and interest group ratings for state and federal candidates in the upcoming elections.
• California Voter Foundation
• CSPAN Politics view campaign advertisesments, the debates, and podcasts
• Factcheck.org a nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. It is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
• PolitiFact.com a project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly to help you find the truth in the presidential campaign
• Electoral College Provides information about the Electoral College process and past electoral results. Try the Electoral College Calculator to predict who will win the next election.
• The ReDistricting Game designed to educate, engage, and empower citizens around the issue of political redistricting; the website provides a wealth of information about redistricting in every state as well as providing hands-on opportunities for civic engagement and political action.

Campaign Finance

• Federal Election Commission Find information on campaign finance laws and reporting, election dates, previous election results, and how elections work.
• FundRace a handy website for tracking campaign finance contributions
• OpenSecrets.org "Your Guide to Money in U.S. Elections"
• Follow The Money provides data on money in state politics
• Cal-Access provides financial information on California state candidates, donors, and lobbyists.
• San Francisco Ethics Commission  This is the City's public portal for campaign finance, lobbyist and campaign consultant disclosure.
• MAPLight a database which brings together campaign contributions with how legislators vote

International Elections

• Elections and Electoral Systems around the World from the University of Keele, United Kingdom
• ElectionGuide from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems