About Voter’s Edge California
Welcome to Voter’s Edge California
Voter’s Edge California (VEC) is a joint project of MapLight and the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund (LWVCEF).* Voter’s Edge California is a comprehensive, nonpartisan online guide to elections covering federal, state, and local races in the state of California.
With Voter’s Edge California, voters can:
- Access their full, personalized ballot by entering their address.
- Get in-depth information on candidates, measures, and who supports them.
- View candidate biographies, top priorities, answers to questions, photos, policy videos, endorsements, and detailed information about who funds their campaigns.
- Browse unbiased explanations of ballot measures; find out who supports, opposes, and funds them.
- Check where, when, and how to vote, including information on their local polling locations.
- Keep track of their choices to make voting easier.
- Share information about the election with friends and family.
*The LWVCEF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization and never advocates. The League of Women Voters of California does operate a separate nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization that advocates on issues and sometimes makes recommendations on ballot measures.
History of Voter’s Edge California
The League of Women Voters of California Education Fund produced one of the nation’s first election information websites, SmartVoter.org. Since 1996, the Smart Voter project has been California’s premier online source for authoritative, nonpartisan coverage of election contests, candidates, and ballot measures.
MapLight’s Voter’s Edge tool was first designed to help voters understand the sources of funding behind ballot measures in California. In some years, the project has also covered candidates and elections in states beyond California.
In 2014, the League and MapLight joined forces to create a successful pilot project. The result is Voter’s Edge California.
The Partnership
MapLight and the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund’s continued collaboration into the 2016 election cycle empowers voters to access the information they need to vote with confidence. Our partnership marries Smart Voter’s authoritative coverage of election contests, candidates, and ballot measures with MapLight's deep expertise in public data and technology. The result is Voter’s Edge California, which provides top-to-bottom ballot and campaign finance information in one easy-to-use site, giving voters instant access to political information of unparalleled depth and transparency.
About MapLight
MapLight is a nonpartisan research organization that reveals money’s influence on politics. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
We provide journalists and citizens with transparency tools that connect data on campaign contributions, politicians, legislative votes, industries, companies, and more to show patterns of influence never before possible to see. These tools allow users to gain unique insights into how campaign contributions affect policy so they can draw their own conclusions about how money influences our political system.
Visit us to learn more about MapLight and our work.
About the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
The League of Women Voters of California Education Fund conducts voter service and civic education activities. We are a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonpartisan nonprofit educational organization, which:
- Builds participation in the democratic process.
- Studies key community issues at all government levels in an unbiased manner.
- Enables people to seek positive solutions to public policy issues through education and conflict management.
Get more information about us.
Find your local League of Women Voters.
Visit Smart Voter’s archives for information and results from past elections.
Funders
Voter’s Edge California is funded by individuals and foundations who support our work providing voters with a one-stop source of unbiased, nonpartisan information to help them make choices that best align with their particular values and interests. We are deeply grateful to the foundations and individuals whose contributions make Voter’s Edge California possible.
Help support Voter’s Edge California today!
Meet the Voter’s Edge California Team
A diverse group of talents and personalities, from both the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVCEF) and MapLight, combine to make Voter’s Edge California possible - let’s meet the team!
| From the LWVCEF: | From MapLight: |
|---|---|
| Deputy Director: Dora Rose | Program Manager: Nhu Tien Lu |
| Membership & Technology Manager: Sharon Stone | Director of Engineering: Leon Smith |
| Senior Programmer: Carl Hage | Data Director: Laura Curlin |
| Liaisons: Bonnie Hamlin, Julie Ann Sih, and Jane Wanderer | Researcher: Chad Outler |
| President: Carol Moon Goldberg | Researcher: Bergen Smith |
| Executive Director: Stephanie Doute | MapLight President & Co-Founder: Daniel Newman |
Learn more about the Voter’s Edge team and the rest of the MapLight crew!
County Coordinators: County Coordinators and other volunteers are vital to the success of Voter’s Edge California. These volunteers work tirelessly to ensure Voter’s Edge California offers an abundance of accurate, high-quality information to voters.
Translations
Spanish-language translations are available for site navigation, state ballot measures, the voting information guide, and some of the information provided by candidates in statewide and federal contests.
Translations for site navigation and candidate-supplied information was provided by AvantPage, under contract with Voter’s Edge, to ensure accessibility of content to Spanish-language audiences. Any inaccuracies or requests can be directed to Contact Us. Translations for state ballot measures are copied from the California Secretary of State.
