Get Research Help
On Demand Reference Assistance
Monday-Friday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Please feel free to call or email us (below) for assistance. If you have a larger research question, please contact us to set up an in-person or Zoom appointment.
Contact Information
reference@lls.edu
213.736.1177
Ballot Measures
Statutes may also be passed by California voters directly through ballot measures (measures on California election ballots.) Initiatives are measures proposing a new law; once on the ballot they are often called propositions. Referendums are measures to reject an existing law.
Many ballot measures are available for free online through the Secretary of State's office and the efforts of UC Hastings Law School. Other law schools and nonprofits provide additional text and commentary.
- Secretary of State- Ballot MeasuresOfficial California Secretary of State website describing the ballot measure process and providing summaries of state ballot measures since 1912 and voter guides to state initiatives since 1996.
- UC Hasting's California Initiatives and PropositionsUC Hasting's collection of proposed initiatives and propositions on the ballot since 1911.
- Ballotpedia California Ballot PropositionsBallotpedia is a professionally edited encyclopedia of elections that includes articles on ballot measures dating back to 1886.
- McGeorge California Initiative ReviewAnalyses of ballot initiatives since 1998 prepared by students of the McGeorge School of Law.
- UC Berkeley California Ballot Measure GuidesGuides to ballot measures since 2000 from UC Berkeley's Institute for Governmental Studies.
- California ChoicesSince 2010, UC Berkeley's Institute for Governmental Studies has also published its guides to ballot measures on the user-friendly California Choices website.
- League of Women Voters California Ballot MeasuresAnalyses of ballot measures by the League of Women Voters.
- 2010 Ballot PropositionsSummaries of 2010 California ballot propositions, provided by the LA Law Library.
