GovBlog: UC Berkeley » Elections

California Propositions - May 19 Special Election

Susana Hinojosa — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:24:51 +0000

In a series of Budget Briefs, the California Budget Project has analysed the May 19th Special Election Ballot Propositions. Specific Budget Briefs:

What Would Proposition 1A Mean for California’s Future?

Proposition 1C: Should California Authorize the Sale of Lottery Bonds to Close the Budget Gap?

What Would Proposition 1D Mean for California?

What Would Proposition 1E Mean for California?

Finally a summary of the ballot measures:

The May 19 Special Election: What Does It Mean for Health Care?

United States Congressional Serial Set Now Available through LexisNexis Congressional

Jesse Silva — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:38:56 +0000

UC Berkeley has recently acquired full-text access to the United States Congressional Serial Set (1789-1969) through LexisNexis Congressional. The Serial Set contains the legislative history of United States, and also includes many historic agency annual reports, House and Senate Reports, and many other official government documents (for a more complete summary of what is contained in the Serial Set, click here). Prior to this acquisition, citations to the Serial Set found in LexisNexis Congressional had to be searched in the Readex United States Congressional Serial Set database. With this purchase, you can now search LexisNexis Congressional for all your congressional research needs. Off-campus access to LexisNexis Congressional is restricted to current UCB student, faculty and staff, though anyone in the Library may access the database.

Analyses of May 19, 2009 Ballot Propositions

Susana Hinojosa — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:32:23 +0000

Be prepared for the California Statewide Special Election, May 19, 2009. See also the Official Voter Information Guide.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has published, Analyses of May 19, 2009 Ballot Propositions. The propositions are:

1. Prop 1A - Stabilizes State Budget. Reforms California Budget Process. Limits State Spending. Increases “Rainy Day” Budget Stabilization Fund.

2. Prop 1B - Education Funding. Payment Plan.

3. Prop 1C - Lottery Modernization Act.

4. Prop 1D - Protects Children’s Services Funding. Helps Balance State Budget.

5. Prop 1E - Ensures Funding for Children’s Mental Health Services. Helps Balance the State Budget.

6. Prop 1F - Elected Officials’ Salaries. Prevents Pay Increases During Budget Deficit Years.

For each of the above, LAO provide text (both html & pdf) and summary.

There may be court-ordered changes through March 18, 2009.

Recovery.gov

Susana Hinojosa — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:19:21 +0000

Recovery.gov is the Obama administration’s website that tracks the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1) that was signed into law on February 17, 2009. The President promised full transparency and accountability. Recovery.gov is the site that will track the Recovery Act’s progress. A Timeline is part of the site - for example March 3, 2009, is when Federal Agencies will begin to report use of the funds. Links to text of H.R. 1 are included. One interesting feature allows users to share their personal ‘recovery story’.

New Database: LexisNexis Statistical Datasets

Jesse Silva — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:25:29 +0000

The Library has just subscribed to LexisNexis Statistical Datasets. The database provides fast and easy one-stop shopping to more than 5.3 billion (and growing) data points from licensed and public domain datasets. Sources of data include local, state and international governments and organizations. Datasets allows you to customize the data by selecting subjects, variable(s) of interest, and the ability to view your data in side-by-side tables, charts and even maps. Datasets also provides quick graphs and chats for statistics in the news, and when you download or print, you are given citation information from where the data originated. Anyone may access LexisNexis Statistical Datasets from the public computers in the Library, however, off-campus access to is restricted to current UCB faculty, staff and students through the proxy server or VPN.

Change.gov

Jesse Silva — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:05:26 +0000

President-elect Barack Obama has launched a new website: change.gov. This site provides information on his transition to the White House, his agenda, and an area where you can share your story working on the campaign or your vision for where the government should proceed. Information about Obama and Biden is also available as well as official government information on the transition.

Electing a US President in Plain English

Tim Dennis — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:49:24 +0000

The guys at Common Craft, known for their innovative videos on web2.0 technologies, are branching out into politics. Check out this video on the US presidential election process:

Find Where You Vote with Google Maps

Tim Dennis — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:01:54 +0000

Google has released this cool feature in google maps. Input your address and the map will show you where you vote. Once plotted you can easily get driving, walking or public transit directions to your polling place.

Statewide Database - The Resdistricting Database for the State of California

Susana Hinojosa — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:27:00 +0000

The Statewide Database offers a wealth of information on California statewide elections back to 1992. This site offers voting, registration, geographic datasets, redistricting court cases and news, plus research resources. As one example, the Reports section includes reports on the 2000 census, zip code information, Statements of Registration (1962-2008), and Statements of the Vote (1990-2008). Maps are given for the Senate, Assembly, and Congressional Districts. Resources include: California redistricting initiatives, and redistricting news. The California District Summaries give for each Senate, Assembly, and Congressional District information on voter registration (Democrat or Republican), the ethnicity of each district, the district vote in the 2000 Presidential Election, and a note on whether the district is considered a safe Republican or Democratic district.

Curious about the “Keating 5?”

Jesse Silva — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:25:47 +0000

The “Keating Five” were five United States Senators:

Alan Cranston (D-CA)
Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ)
John Glenn (D-OH)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Donald W. Riegle (D-MI)

These senators were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association. This savings and loan was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board at the end of the 1980’s during the Savings and Loan scandal.

After a lengthy investigation and many hearings, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Cranston, DeConcini, and Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings. Senators Glenn and McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for having exercised “poor judgment.” All five senators served out their elected terms.Glenn and McCain ran for re-election and won. McCain has since called this time period “my asterisk.”

UC Berkeley has all the hearings from this scandal available electronically via the database LexisNexis Congressional. To find these hearings, search for Keating AND Lincoln and change the date drop-down for date to “Date is Between” then enter January 1, 1988 and December 31, 1991. Click search. In the results click on the link for “Hearings–Digital Collection” at the top of the page to access the list of full-text preliminary inquiry and the investigation hearings. UCB faculty, staff and students have access to this database from off-campus via the proxy server or the VPN. Anyone else may visit the Library to access these documents electronically or you may visit a Federal Depository Library near you to access the information.