GENERAL ELECTION WEBSITE SCAVENGER HUNT

(A nonpartisan look at the election process and the issues)

SME - GEL 101
Fall 2008
Dr. Joanne Pedersen

DUE in class on 10-7 (No late papers accepted) (worth 75 points)

Please note that this assignment DOES NOT endorse a particular political
party/philosophy or agenda. Rather, this assignment is an opportunity for you to explore
the existing issues surrounding the upcoming CA General Election. In order to do that, you
will also need to review/learn some basic information about how California government
operates.

Follow the directions below and word process your answers to the following questions.
Your paper should be organized and your answers should be written in complete
sentences/paragraphs. Your paper must be in your own words, but please feel free to work
in teams to find the answers to the following questions (Each person turns in their own
paper in their own words).

PART I
Go to www.ca.gov
Click on Elections & Voter Info (under Living in CA)
Click on Publications & Resources (under Additional Election Information)
Click on California Legislative Information
Click on Legislative Publications
Click on “California’s Legislature”
1) Explore this document “California’s Legislature” (note: there is a lot of blank space,
so be prepared to scroll). Describe the purpose of this document and what it covers?
(clue: look at preface and table of contents)
2) Explore Chapter III “Elections”: Describe the various types of elections in
California. What is an initiative and how does it become a proposition on a ballot?
(hint: begin reading under “measures on the ballot”)

PART II (Number your answers 1-10 and give complete sentences for each)
Go to www.ca.gov
Under Government Links, you can use either the Agency Directory or More Government
Links to locate the website for the California Secretary of State.
You will be able to answer most of the following questions by exploring various links from
the Secretary of State’s Home Page.

1) Who is the current Secretary of State for California? What are some important
facts about this person and when does this person’s term expire?
 2) What are the primary job responsibilities/duties of the CA Secretary of State? (hint:
look under “About the Agency”)
3) What is the top priority of the elections division?
4) On what date will the upcoming CA general election be held?
5) Who may register to vote?
6) How do you register to vote?
7) When is the last day a person can register to vote in the upcoming CA general
election?
8) What is “Vote by Mail” and how does the entire process work?
9) When does a person need to re-register to vote?
10) Where is your polling place?

PART III
Go to www.ca.gov
Click on Elections & Voter Info
Click on Voter Information Guide (off to the upper/left of the screen) to explore the details
of each proposition
Click on Ballot Measure Update to explore the current status of various propositions

Explore each proposition that has qualified for the 2008 General Election. For this section,
list each ballot number and, in at least 4 or 5 sentences for each proposition, describe each
proposition in your own words and your initial impressions of the proposition. If you are
working in teams, each of you needs to describe the propositions in your own words. Most
voters do this same homework each time they vote. You can then refer back to this
assignment when you vote.

PART IV
Rank order your interest in the propositions. Start with rank 1 being the proposition you
are most interested in learning about. Then list the remaining propositions in order of
interest (do not us the same rank number twice). Refer to each proposition by its
Proposition ballot number and title.

PART IV EXTRA CREDIT – 2 pts extra credit for each paragraph

Explore the political parties in CA (you must do a search for their official websites). For 2
points extra credit, write a paragraph on a political party and explore what they stand for
(make sure you provide the website url. Who are their candidates and what does the party
stand for? You will receive up to 2 points extra credit for each political party you write
about. For each political party, you must write a full paragraph.

PLEASE NOTE: Basic organization, spelling, sentence structure and paragraph structure
will be factored into your final grade for this assignment.