In every election, the stakes are high. With ballot measures, we become the policymakers, approving billions in spending, amending the constitution, and passing laws that shape our communities for years.

California’s voter guide is a strong attempt at informing voters of each ballot measure, but it doesn’t meet most voters’ needs. In fact, it can leave voters with more questions than answers. That’s why they turn to campaign ads, party-line endorsement guides, and even AI chatbots to make quick decisions at the ballot box, if they choose to vote at all.

What’s wrong with our voter guides

• They’re written for lawyers, not voters. The 2026 voter guide is nearly 200 pages with legal text and political jargon not comprehensible to many voters.
• They’re getting longer, not clearer. In 2016, California mailed the longest voter guide in its history, 224 pages for 17 propositions.
• The final check on ballot guide language is insufficient. Per California Elections Code §9087, subdivision (d), the analyst’s write-up for each ballot measure is reviewed for “easy comprehension” by a committee of just five people. That’s not representative of the millions of voters the guide is written for, and the law doesn’t require testing it with them.
• It ignores 21st century learning methods. Most of us spend hours a day on our phones; this also means that we learn on our phones, turning to podcasts, videos, and AI chatbots for clarity. The official guide, as it is designed today, is still essentially a static pamphlet.

Voter guides cost the state millions of dollars. It has an obligation to provide the utmost value to voters. But too often, it doesn't. That's when voters turn to TV ads, social media, and whoever is shouting loudest. Or they skip voting entirely. 

How it can be better

Organizations like the Center for Civic Design and the League of Women Voters of California have spent years studying how real voters use these guides and recommending improvements for future voter guides. The data exists. The state needs to put these recommendations into practice.

What we’re asking California to do

• Test voter guide language with real Californians and publish a Voter Comprehension Score. Expand the five-person clarity review into real usability testing with a diverse group of voters: first-time voters, older voters, voters with disabilities, and voters in every language the guide is published in. For each measure, publish a score showing how many testers could correctly explain what the measure does, what a YES vote would mean, what a NO vote would mean, and its fiscal impact. Rewrite any measure that falls below a set threshold before the guide goes to print.
• Build it for how we learn in the 21st century. Create a mobile-first, interactive and customizable digital guide with official video and audio explainers for every measure, in every language the guide already covers. Let voters tap or hover over key terms like “bond,” “General Fund,” or “initiative statute” for plain-language definitions and simple infographics. Keep the full legal text one tap away.

21st century knowledge-sharing means data-driven resources, interactivity, multimedia access (print, video and audio, and more), constant iteration, and measurable results. California leads the world in innovation. It’s time our ballot guide caught up. 

Sign to tell California: bring ballot guides into the 21st century.