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Primary Sources

Use these resources to find the text of specific ballot measures:

• San Francisco Ballot Measures

Contains full text of City Ballot Propositions from 1907 to the present. Beware: the PDF files containing the full text are very large and may take a while to download.

• California Ballot Measures

Contains full text of Statewide Ballot Propositions from 1996 to the present. Select a specific voter guide (month/year of election), then click on "Propositions" for a listing of the various propositions voted on in that election. To search all propositions from 1911 to October 2003, try the California Ballot Propositions Database.

• Ballot Measures for Other States

Find summaries of ballot measures from any state. May also contain links to the full text. From the menu at the top of the page, select "My State" and then choose "Ballot Measures" from the drop down menu.

Secondary Sources

To find newspaper and journal articles written about specific ballot measures try the following resources:

• Academic OneFile and ProQuest are databases that cover a broad range of academic journals, popular magazines, and newspapers.
  

• LexisNexis Academic has the full text of over 5,000 news sources, such as national and regional newspapers, like The New York Times and The San Francisco Chronicle. Try using the keyword "editorial" to find opinion pieces on your topic.
  

• CQ Researcher is a great resource for current political and social issues. Contains full text!
  

• Opposing Viewpoints is another good database for pro/con arguments on current political and social issues. Also contains reference and statistical information. Full text!
  

• Alt-Press Watch Contains the full-text of articles from approximately 170 alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals.

• Ethnic News Watch Contains full-text articles from over 230 local, national, and international sources.