CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Issue Summary

In order for a democratic system of governance to be most effective, both citizens and non-citizens need to monitor government, and they need to understand what they see. They need to know how to inform themselves, how to convey their values and priorities to their representatives, and at election time eligible voters need to be prepared to make informed decisions and cast their ballots. (This last activity is only one element of civic engagement however.)

To the extent Californians are not participating in governance at this level, merely providing them better tools to do so is not likely to change their behavior. Improving civic engagement requires giving people a credible reason to believe their participation really can make a difference in the quality of the public policies that govern their lives.

Another obstacle to civic engagement in California is the rapidly growing number of independent or “decline-to-state” voters. (L.A. Times, 2/19/06: “California’s Independent Streak,” Lesher and Baldassare). Irrespective of the specific platforms of political parties, parties provide critical infrastructure for potential voters to access policy and election information generally aligned with their views and to participate in elections and communicate with elected representatives throughout the year. The growing percentage of the state’s population that expresses interest in government but does not feel a connection to any of the major (or minor) political parties has considerably less access to this system as it is currently structured.

Finally, Californians need to better understand the significance of the State’s large and growing immigrant population. Many immigrants are not citizens and so cannot vote; nonetheless, they can be and in many cases are engaged, and they need to have a means of communicating with government.

Current Status

A number of significant legislative proposals were introduced in the '05-'06 legislative session. At least some of them are likely to be reintroduced in the '07-'08 session (see below).

At the local level, the city of Los Angeles is actively promoting public participation in government (and government responsiveness to residents) by creating, nurturing and supporting a citywide system of grassroots, independent and participatory neighborhood councils. This appears to be a promising approach to spurring stronger civic engagement.

UPCOMING EVENTS

None scheduled on this topic at this time.

BACKGROUND

Past VoR Programs

Two Part Round Table Discussion: "Exploring TV Coverage of Public Policy Coming Out of the Legislature, and How it can be Improved and Expanded" (7/16/07-07/17/07, Sacramento)

Round Table 1: "A Discussion with TV Journalists, News Directors, and Legislative Staff on the Potential for TV News to Better Cover Public Policy Coming Out of the Legislature" (7/16/07, Sacramento)
DOWNLOAD MP3 | California Channel Video | Transcript

Round Table 2: "Beyond the 11:00 News - A Discussion of Expanding Opportunities to Reach the Public with Relevant Legislative Policy Discussions, Via TV and the Internet" (07/17/07, Sacramento)
DOWNLOAD MP3 | California Channel Video | Transcript

Panel Discussion: "The 2008 California Presidential Primary: Will Decline-to-State Voters be able to Vote Republican?" (5/02/07, Sacramento) | DOWNLOAD MP3 | California Channel Video

Panel Discussion: "Ranked Choice Voting: Will California follow the Bay Area's lead?" (4/19/07, San Francisco) | DOWNLOAD MP3

VoR Post Election Series: "'Decline to State' Voters: California's Fastest Growing Party?" (01/17/07, Sacramento) | DOWNLOAD MP3 | California Channel Video

Speaker: "Ten Steps to Repair Democracy in California" (7/24/06, San Francisco) | DOWNLOAD MP3 | California Channel Video

Panel Discussion: "Reconnecting Californians to Their Government: A Citizens’ Assembly for Political Reform" (1/26/06, San Francisco) | DOWNLOAD MP3

Editorial Board Roundtable: Civic Engagement (hosted by the Fresno Bee, 6/15/05) | PDF TRANSCRIPT

Panel Discussion: “How Emerging Digital Technology is Affecting Civic Engagement in California” (3/30/05, Los Angeles) | DOWNLOAD MP3

Legislation ('05-'06 legislative session)

ACA 28. (Canciamilla D-11 and Richman R-38) This bill would establish the Citizens Assembly to evaluate potential reforms of the laws governing the electoral and campaign process, including campaign finance reform, for the Legislature and statewide elected executive officers. The recommendations of the Citizens Assembly would go to the ballot as an initiative, without legislative approval.

SB 1267. (Cedillo D-22) This bill would establish an Office of Immigrant Affairs to ensure the integration and civic participation of new residents in the state.

AB 2060. (De La Torre D-50) This bill would strengthen the ability of new citizens to contribute to their communities upon naturalization by offering programs emphasizing civic participation and coordinating services through community-based models that can reach California's diverse immigrant communities.

Websites

The California Secretary of State. This site provides a range of non-partisan election and voter information.

The California Voter Foundation. This site provides a range of non-partisan voter information, including information related to responsible use of technology to improve the democratic process.

Easy Voter Guide Project. This project provides voter information to the public, and specifically works to reach people who might be underserved by current election communications.

Smartvoter.org. This California League of Women Voters site provides a range of non-partisan voter information, including easy to use online tools for finding your local ballot and other specific election information.

Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action. An organization that strives to increase immigrant civic and political activism to strengthen democracy and advance social justice.

Latino Issues Forum. A Public Policy and Advocacy organization with a section of their website devoted to civic participation, featuring reports, links, and news.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). MALDEF is a nonprofit Latino litigation, advocacy, and educational outreach organization working in areas that include Public policy, immigration, and voting rights.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP engages in advocacy and outreach across America focusing on the rights of minority groups in such areas as economic development, housing, and youth work.

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund (NALEO). This site provides information related to NALEO’s efforts to promote policies that further Latino access to the political process and provide the public with accurate and relevant information about Latino political engagement and impact.

The Center for Voting and Democracy. CVD seeks to promote increased voter turnout and fair representation. The site provides information on a range of electoral process issues, with an emphasis on proportional representation.

Project Vote Smart. This site provides a searchable database of candidates and elected officials nationwide in five basic categories: biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and interest group ratings. Primary focus is on the offices of the presidency, congress, governors and state legislators. Less detailed information is available at the county and local level for each state.

The Annenberg Political Fact Check. This project is based at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.

The Caltech-MIT Voting Technology Project. This site provides links to research on elections analysis, ballot design, and voting technology. The project recently hosted a Voter Identification/Registration Conference in October 2006 and compiled a list of helpful resources.

Citizens Assembly Blog. (by J.H. Snider) This site provides a comprehensive collection of reports and news items related to the citizen’s assembly concept.

JoinCalifornia. This site, created by a group of San Jose State graduates, archives select California election history, including background on federal and statewide offices, legislative districts and political parties within the state.

Collaborative Governance Resource Center. This project of the Institute of Local Government supports informed and effective civic engagement in local public decisions and policy making.

California Forward. California Forward is a nonprofit organization charting a new path to more effective state governance through nonpartisan policy analysis, public dialogue throughout the state on key issues, and pursuit of sensible reforms.

Reports and Papers

'Empowering Moderate Voters' Position Paper and Fact Sheet by John Porter, April 2007.

'Will Vote by Mail Elections Increase Participation?: Evidence from California Counties' (pdf) Report by Thad Kousser and Megan Mullin, April 2007.

‘At issue: California's Exclusive Electorate ’ (pdf) Public Policy Institute of California Report by Mark Baldassare, September 2006.

‘California’s independent streak’ (pdf) newspaper article by David Lesher and Mark Baldassare, Los Angeles Times, February 19, 2006. (courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)

‘Policy Brief: Establishing a Citizen’s Assembly in California’ (pdf) Brief by Joe Tayag for The Greenlining Institute, August 2005. (courtesy of The Greenlining Institute)

‘The Season of our Discontent: Voters’ Views on California Elections’ (pdf) Public Policy Institute of California Report by Mark Baldassare, Bruce Cain, D.E. Apollonio, and Jonathan Cohen, 2004.

‘The Ties That Bind: Changing Demographics and Civic Engagement in California’ (pdf) PPIC Report by S. Karthick Ramakrishnan and Mark Baldassare, 2004

‘How Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Shape the California Electorate’ (pdf) PPIC Report by Jack Citrin and Benjamin Highton, 2002

‘Leadership for Policy Change’ (pdf) PolicyLink Report by Dwayne S. Marsh, Milly Hawk Daniel, and Kris Putnam, 2003

‘Three California Election Megatrends and Their Implications in the 2006 Gubernatorial Election’ Special Field Poll Presentation by Mark DiCamillo, February 2006. This PowerPoint presentation highlights the impact of Latino Voters, differences in voting preferences between the coastal and inland California voters, and the increase in voting by mail in 2005.

‘Proportion of Voters Casting Mail Ballots Will Reach a New High in Today’s Election’ Field Poll Report by Mark DiCamillo and Mervin Field, November 2005

‘Just the Facts’ Publication Series by Public Policy Institute of California

California's Partisan Divide September 2006
California Voter and Party Profiles August 2006
California's Likely Voters August 2006
Latino Voters in California August 2006
The Age Gap in California Politics August 2006