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Features of official voter guides, compared by state
From Ballotpedia
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This page is a comparative look at official voter guides for state ballot measures.
What is an official voter guide for ballot measures? For the purpose of this analysis, with a few exceptions as noted, a voter guide is defined as:
- Being produced by a state agency or authority
- Containing at least part of the information detailed below pertaining to ballot measures
- Being addressed specifically to voters as a guide for an election
- Being in a booklet or pamphlet format (unless it is specifically available online only)
- Referenced or published on state websites
What does not count as an official voter guide for ballot measures?
- A voter guide by a third party group, such as the League of Women Voters
- A voter guide describing only candidates for public offices
- A press release describing a ballot certification
(Updated: September 2012)
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Click on the tabs above for details about each states' voter guides.
How did each state rank? Click on the second tab called "Ranking of States."
The charts below evaluate states that featured state ballot measures on the ballot. Each state was evaluated on six desirable features, specific to ballot measures: a ballot title and official ballot summary, neutral explanation or analysis, fiscal impact statement, arguments for and against the measure, a statement of legal changes, and translations into various languages. Evaluated documents include documents that were found on the state government websites.
| Contents |
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| 1 Overview |
| 1.1 Voter guide accessibility |
| 1.2 Available info |
| 1.2.1 Did you know? |
| 1.3 Desirable voter guide features |
| 2 Voter guide accessibility |
| 3 Ranking of States |
| 4 Comparison of voter guides |
In August 2012, Ballotpedia researchers analyzed 2009-2011 state voter guides on accessibility, available information and desirable features. During the three year period, 41 states featured state ballot measures on the ballot. A total of 250 measures were voted on during the period.
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Voter guide accessibility
In August 2012, Ballotpedia contacted all 41 states that featured ballot measures on the ballot from 2009-2011. According to that original research:
- 20 states mail voter guides to registered voters.
- Of the 21 states that do not mail voter guides, 20 offer election information via other avenues, including: state websites, local newspapers, post offices and/or libraries.
- The cost of mailing voter guides ranges anywhere from $33,000 - $2 million.
- Roughly, 32 states make voter guide information available online.
Available info
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Not all voter guides publish candidate and ballot measure information together. When asked, 12 states said they publish candidates and measures separately, 6 publish together, 11 only publish ballot measures, and 12 did not respond.
Did you know?
- The state of Hawaii used to mail voter guides but stopped mailing them due to complaints about bias in the guides.
- Louisiana ballot language used to say "for and against," now it says "yes or no."
- The state of North Dakota used to publish and mail voters guide but was stopped by the legislature in the 1970s because it was considered wasted money.
Desirable voter guide features
The chart below is an overview of which of six desirable features were, or in many cases were not, found in the online voter information materials published by 41 state governments to familiarize voters with statewide ballot measures. Those desirable features include: a ballot title and official ballot summary, neutral explanation or analysis, fiscal impact statement, arguments for and against the measure, a statement of legal changes, and the document to be in multiple languages.
- 9 of the 41 states (21.95%) got an "excellent" or "very good" ranking.
- 24 out of the 41 states (58.5%) got a "fair" or "poor" ranking.
The 41 states included in the study were the 41 states that had at least one statewide ballot measure on their ballot in 2009, 2010 or 2011.
| Feature | How many guides.... | |
|---|---|---|
| Had this feature? | Did not have this feature? | |
| Ballot title | 39 | 2[1] |
| Explanation/analysis | 26 | 15[2] |
| Text of new law | 26 | 15[3] |
| Pro/con arguments | 18 | 23[4] |
| Multiple languages | 13 | 28[5] |
| Fiscal note | 11 | 30[6] |
The chart below highlights details about state voter guide distribution, cost of mailing guides and information available on state guides. All 41 secretary of state offices were contacted in August 2012. As of September 11, 2012 one state did not return e-mail and phone inquiries. That state included: South Carolina.
Note: Blank sections below indicate no response by the secretary of state's office.
| State | Voter guide distribution (Mail, website, other) |
Cost of mailing guides | Voter guide info (Measures and candidate info published together? separate? Other?) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Website or request. Not mailed. | Published separately. | |
| Alaska | Mail. | $302,468.00 | Published separately. |
| Arizona | Mail. | approx. $750,000 | Published separately. |
| Arkansas | Website. Not mailed.[7] | Published separately. | |
| California | Mail. | Published separately. | |
| Colorado | Mail. | $400,000 | Ballot measures only. Candidates are not included in the voter guide. |
| Florida | Some counties mail out voter guides and some mail out sample ballots. Also available via the state website.[8] | ||
| Georgia | Website and newspapers. Not mailed. | ||
| Hawaii | Website. Not mailed. | ||
| Idaho | Mail. | $136,000 | Ballot measures only. |
| Illinois | Mail, newspapers. | $2 million[9] | Ballot measures only. |
| Indiana | Website. Not mailed. | Published separately. | |
| Iowa | Website and newspapers. Not mailed. | Ballot measures only. No candidate info. | |
| Kansas | Website. Not mailed. | ||
| Louisiana | Website, phone app, newspapers and by request. Not mailed.[10] | ||
| Maine | Website, public libraries and by request. Not mailed. | Ballot measures only. No candidate info. | |
| Maryland | Mail and website. | Published separately. | |
| Massachusetts | Mail, website and town offices. | Currently unknown[11] | |
| Michigan | News media and counties. Not mailed. | Published separately. | |
| Mississippi | Website, by request at circuit clerk's offices and other public buildings, newspapers, radio, and television. | Published separately.[12] | |
| Missouri | Mail, website, local election authorities and newspapers. | Ballot measures only. No candidate info. | |
| Montana | Mail, website, county offices and libraries. | 2012 bid is pending. In 2010, 440,000 guides (2010's guide was considered short). 2010 print cost was $33,550. |
Ballot measures only. No candidate info. |
| Nebraska | Website. Not mailed. | Ballot measures only. No candidate info. | |
| Nevada | Mail. | ||
| New Jersey | Website. Not mailed. | "New Jersey sends out sample ballots. We do not have 'Voter Guides' and yes the questions and candidates both appear on the sample ballot." | |
| New York | Abstract published in newspapers. Not mailed. | Published separately. | |
| New Mexico | Available at county clerk offices. Not mailed. | ||
| North Carolina | Website. | $650,000 total cost to mail the guides. | Ballot measures and political candidates are published together. |
| North Dakota | Website. Not mailed. | "No guides" | |
| Ohio | Website, public libraries and newspapers. Not mailed. | 2012's costs are pending. 2011 was considered an unusual year because Issue 2 was a 300+ page bill. It cost a total of $2,117,911.12 for the advertising.[13] |
Ballot measures only. No candidate info. |
| Oklahoma | Website. Not mailed. | "No publishing either one [candidates or ballot measures]." | |
| Oregon | Mail, website, town offices, county offices and libraries. | 2010 cost - $635,054 (general) + $408,496 (primary).[14] | Published together. |
| Rhode Island | Mail, website, city and town offices. | 2012: an estimated $92,000 for both printing [$77,000] and mailing [$11,000])[15] | Ballot measures only. No candidate info. |
| South Carolina | |||
| South Dakota | Website, county offices, state library, county auditors, universities, city offices, and newspapers. Not mailed. | Ballot measures only. No candidate info. | |
| Tennessee | Mail, website and newspapers. | Ballot measures only. The only candidate info that is listed is name and contact. | |
| Texas | Mail and website. | 2011: the cost for postage was $314,366 and the cost for printing was $53,800. | Ballot measures only. No candidate info. |
| Utah | Mail (postcard with link to website), website, colleges, county clerks, senior centers, libraries and post offices. | Published together Congressional, federal, and statewide candidates have position statements. | |
| Vermont | Newspapers and website. Not mailed. | Published together. | |
| Virginia | Website, sent to registrars and newspapers. Not mailed. | Published separately. | |
| Washington | Mail, website, schools, county auditors and post offices. | $1.5 million (estimate for 2012), but according to officials, could be as low as $600,000. | Published together. |
The stats
- 9 of the 41 states (21.95%) got an "excellent" or "very good" ranking.
- 24 out of the 41 states (58.5%) got a "fair" or "poor" ranking.
For the purposes of this study, online documents available on the state government websites were evaluated.
Inside a voter guide
As noted, ballot measure voter guides are specific booklets or pamphlets published by state governments to educate voters on the initiatives and referendums they will be voting on in upcoming elections. While ballots between states can variety largely in language and form, voter guides often have some of the following features:
- The official ballot language - this may include Ballot title and official ballot summary.
- A neutral explanation or analysis - this is a short summary by a governmental of the key points. Some summaries can run multiple pages, while other only a paragraph or two.
- A fiscal impact statement - this is generally a detailed explanation on how the measure will affect state finances.
- Arguments for and against the measure - these are typically statements written by support or opposition detailing their argument, but they may also be general points compiled by the agency publishing the guides. Some states allow comments from the public to be submitted as well.
- A statement of legal changes - this may be the full text of the statute or amendment that will become law if the measure is approved, and often includes mark-ups to show exactly how the law was changed.
- Languages - Official voter guides are always published in English, but some states will publish them in other languages, such as Spanish, and formats, such as audio.
| Contents |
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| 1 Comparison of voter guides |
| 1.1 2012 |
| 1.2 2011 |
| 1.3 2010 |
| 1.4 2009 |
2012
Note: The 2012 comparison currently covers ballot measure elections prior to July 2012. This will be updated frequently throughout the year.
Notable changes
- In 2012, California added three languages to its large list of languages the voter guide is available in: Hindi, Khmer, and Thai.
2011
2010
- See also: 2010 ballot measures
Notable changes
- Oregon published the Citizens’ Review Statement. The statement is a set of unofficial opinions created by the Oregon Citizen Initiative Review, a process approved by the legislature in 2009 to allow an independent citizen panel to review statewide initiatives.[28]
2009
| Ballot Measure Chart | Official Voter Guide | Publisher | Official ballot language | Explanation or Analysis | Fiscal note | Pro and Con Arguments/Public Comments | Text of statute or amendment | Available languages online | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without markup | With markup | |||||||||
| CA 2009 | California Statewide Special Election Tuesday, May 19, 2009: Official Voter Information Guide | California Secretary of State | 
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English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese | Large Print and Audio guides were also available on order |
| ME 2009 | Maine Citizen's Guide to the Referendum Election: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 | Maine Secretary of State |
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(None filed)
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English | 
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| NJ 2009 | Sample ballot of 2009 general election (Kingwood Township, New Jersey)[29] | New Jersey Division of Elections |
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English | Sample ballot published by local clerks. |
| NY 2009 | In New York it remains up to the individual municipalities to publish voter guides at their discretion; New York City published a voter guide |
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(NYC) |
(NYC) |
(NYC) |
(NYC) |
(NYC) |
(NYC) |
English (NYC) |
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| OH 2009 | Ohio Issues Report: State Issues Ballot Information for the November 8, 2011 General Election | Ohio Secretary of State |
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English |
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| TX 2009 | Analyses of Proposed Constitutional Amendments November 3, 2009, Election | Texas Legislative Council |
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English | The analysis is not specifically address to voters |
| WA 2009 | 2009 General Election Voter Pamphlet | Washington Secretary of State |
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English | Online edition only; Video Voter's Guides for Referendum-71 and I-1033 with pro and con argument are also available |
Notable changes
- Washington added a video voter's guide specifically for ballot measures. They had previously been available only for state offices.[30]
References
- ↑ States that did not the "ballot title" included: Michigan and New York.
- ↑ States that did not have the "Explanation/analysis" included: Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont.
- ↑ States that did not have "Test of new law" included: Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Vermont.
- ↑ States that did not have "Pro/con arguments" included: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia.
- ↑ States that did not feature "Multiple languages" included: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
- ↑ States that did not feature a "fiscal note" included: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia.
- ↑ Arkansas: According to state officials, issue groups in the state of Arkansas send out informational packets prior to the election.
- ↑ Florida: According to state officials, Florida relies on newspapers and local issue groups for most distribution of information.
- ↑ Illinois: $2 million includes the budget for translation into many different languages and publication in newspapers)
- ↑ Louisiana: According to state officials the private, non-profit Public Affairs Research Council provides information about constitutional amendments.
- ↑ Massachusetts: Will be available once all of the mailing has been completed for 2012.
- ↑ "Candidate Info is posted on page after qualifying. When we have measures to be placed on the ballot, the guides are posted here."
- ↑ Ohio:In addition to this, according to state officials "we elected to send the insert (we printed overruns of the same thing that ran in the newspaper) to public libraries, county boards of elections, county departments of job and family services – all places where voters might look for the information." That additional cost was a little more than $8,900.
- ↑ Oregon: 2008 cost - $1,153,223 (general) + $436,191 (primary). 2006 cost - $1,226,040(general) + $368,221 (primary).
- ↑ The 2012 estimate was updated after e-mail communication with Chris Barnett on September 25, 2012. Previous estimate was = "Roughly $150,000 for printing and mailing."
- ↑ This proposal included a new amendment and thus did not require mark-up.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 The North Dakota Legislative Council prepares a fiscal analysis of each measure after certification and prior to the election. This information is made available to the public by the Secretary of State.
- ↑ State sample ballot or voter guide not found, as of July 2012.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 After the Secretary of State receives the approved proposal, he or she transfers the measure to the Office of Budget and Management (and/or Tax Commissioner if the measure involves a tax). The office (and/or commissioner) then estimates the fiscal impact of the measure. This estimate (or joint estimate) is ultimately posted on the Secretary of State's website 30 days prior to the election.
- ↑ After preliminary signatures have been collected and proponents have submitted a ballot title and summary, the Secretary of State must submit the proposal to the Financial Impact Estimating Conference. The Conference, after allowing for public input, must draft a concise statement of the effect of the proposed measure on revenue and expenditures. The Conference must also draft a more detailed financial statement of the measure's predicted effects and the methods used in the analysis.Read more here.
- ↑ Confirmed information is available only electronically by Ballotpedia staff with the Illinois State Board of Elections via phone on July 10, 2012
- ↑ A state sample ballot or voter guide were not found, as of July 2012.
- ↑ A state sample ballot or voter guide were not found, as of July 2012.
- ↑ During the Attorney General's review, he or she must determine if the bill affects state revenues or expenditures. If so, the budget director must prepare a short fiscal note for inclusion on the petition and ballot.
- ↑ North Dakota's ballot information page is no longer accessible as of July 2012.
- ↑ A 2010 Spanish voter guide was e-mailed to Ballotpedia by the Rhode Island Secretary of State's office on Sept. 25, 2012. An online link is unavailable.
- ↑ On April 6, 2012 the office of the attorney general released an opinion statement that included an analysis. Available here.
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Voters’ Pamphlet: Oregon General Election November 2, 2010"
- ↑ A state sample ballot or voter guide was not found, as of July 2012.
- ↑ TVW, "Search Results"
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