Ballotpedia:Volunteers (local ballot measures)
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Since 2009, we have covered all local ballot measures in 11 states. We're looking for volunteers:
- In those 11 states, to provide even more detailed coverage.
- In the other 39 states, to begin to develop this type of information in those states.
If you are interested in volunteering, you can either:
- Just get started on your own and see what develops.
- Send an email to joshaltic@ballotpedia.org to let him know of your interest and to ask whatever questions you may have.
Either way, reading through the FAQ below will give you an overview of what to expect if you are interested in volunteering in this area.
Another way to help is by posting a link to this page on your Facebook or Twitter account and asking your friends/followers to consider getting involved in this big project.
Why is this important?
- It's hard for voters to find good information about local ballot measures. You can solve that information problem for information-hungry voters in your county or state through your research and writing.
- To the extent that volunteers on Ballotpedia can cover local ballot measures in more counties and more states, it will be possible to detect patterns and trends both in the types of political topics that show up on local ballots, and in their approval/rejection rates. By volunteering to research and write about local ballot measures in your part of the country, your work will become part of a rich national tapestry.
- You'd play a key role in creating an encyclopedic overview with archival value for historians, scholars and journalists of how voters engage with local governance questions throughout the country.
What would I be doing?
- You would periodically check the relevant official election website in the counties you commit to cover to see if any local ballot measure elections are scheduled.
- If there are, you would add those to a list on Ballotpedia for the county in question.
- You would then begin and develop an article about each specific local measure.
- For example, you'd do research to find out what the official text of the measure is, who is for it and against it, what their arguments are, any campaign spending that has occurred, how it got on the ballot, and so on.
- There are detailed local ballot measure writing guidelines on Ballotpedia to give you ideas on how to approach writing about a local ballot measure election.
How much time would I invest?
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That depends on:
- How many counties you commit to cover.
- How many local ballot measures typically appear on the ballot for political subdivisions in that county in the course of an average year.
- How indepth you go in your research and writing.
The average county in the average state probably only has about 3 local ballot measures a year. That's because many counties have none. If you committed to covering 10 counties, on average you'd be writing up about 25-35 local ballot measure articles a year. If you put 3-4 hours of research and writing into each article, that would mean you'd be spending about 100 hours a year, or two hours a week doing this.
What states does Ballotpedia already cover?
What do you already have in my county?
Click on your state in this list, and then on your county. That will tell you whether any work has ever been done in your county. Also, check the external links section of that article for your county. It should go to your county's election department. This will allow you to figure out how much information your county does (or doesn't) make available online about its local ballot measure elections.
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