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By: Johanna Herman
The availability of current information about local ballot measures varies from state to state, let alone from county to county. Of the 738 counties reviewed by Ballotpedia, 233 do not have local websites that display election information.
In an attempt to better assess the overall availability of local election information online, Ballotpedia conducted a study from December 2011 - March 2012 to better identify how much information was easily found on local websites.
In general, Ballotpedia tracks a total of 11 states in its yearly local election coverage. These states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. As other states make their information available, more data is added to Ballotpedia's coverage of local elections.
Some states, like Washington and California, had great websites and election information including ballot text and updated results was easily found in each county. However, such information was not easily found in states like Illinois and Missouri.
The study evaluated each county on seven points: whether the county had election website, the availability of current election information, ballot text availability, if an issues list existed, if election results were updated shortly following the election, the availability of a ballot measure archive and the ease of navigation. The seventh component, not listed on the table below, ranked the accessibility of the local county website, if it was user friendly and easily navigable. Counties were evaluated on a scale of 1-5, 5 being a perfect score. Only 39 counties of 738 scored a "5," meaning they were identified as having nearly perfect sites. 23 counties were in Washington State, 7 were in California, 3 counties each in Colorado and Florida and 1 county each in Illinois, Ohio and Oregon.
Quick highlights:
- The State of Washington consistently had the best information, while Missouri consistently had the worst.
- The county with the longest archival history was Benton County in Oregon. The county has election information as far back as 1852.
- Of the 738 counties checked, 505 (68%) had election information available on their local websites.
For a more detailed breakdown of how each state and each county did in the 7 assessed areas, take a look at "County election website evaluations." Details for all 738 counties can be viewed by clicking on each state link below.
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Legend
Ranked the highest in the category
Ranked the lowest in the category
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| State
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# of counties
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Election website
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Current election info
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Ballot text
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Issues list
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Updated results
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Ballot measure archive
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| Arizona
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15
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86%
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87%
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33%
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0%
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100%
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100%
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| California
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58
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98%
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88%
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88%
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7%
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96%
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91%
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| Colorado
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64
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56%
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57%
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42%
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3%
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59%
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45%
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| Florida
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67
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94%
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98%
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82%
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0%
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100%
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94%
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| Illinois
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102
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56%
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43%
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34%
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5%
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69%
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38%
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| Michigan
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83
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63%
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64%
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48%
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27%
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77%
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60%
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| Missouri
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114
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35%
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27%
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21%
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7%
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33%
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22%
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| Ohio
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88
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96%
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96%
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56%
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88%
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93%
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81%
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| Oregon
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36
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69%
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69%
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58%
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36%
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72%
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72%
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| Washington
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39
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100%
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100%
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95%
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0%
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100%
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97%
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| Wisconsin
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72
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50%
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43%
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25%
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1%
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55%
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51%
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- See also: School bond and tax elections in Colorado
Colorado has two different types of ballot measures that are required under two different laws. The first is the Taxpayer Bill of Rights from 1992, which became Section 20 of Article 10 of the Colorado Constitution. Under TABOR, local voter approval is required if the school district wants to exceed its tax levy above the normal rate of inflation set by the consumer price index. The second law is the School Finance Act of 1994. Under the act, voter approval is required when a school district wants to exceed the limit for raising its Total Program Budget. The Total Program Budget is a combined budget that includes the district's general fund, special education and other costs. A school district that wants to exceed the previous year's Total Program Budget by more than 125% must put a plan before the voters. This type of ballot measure has rarely been used; it is considered to be a last resort option.
Colorado law imposes limits on when school districts can hold special elections. Colorado only allows special elections in even numbered years on pre-established general and primary election days in May and November. In odd-numbered years, special school district elections can only occur on the first Tuesday in November.
School districts that want to exceed their TABOR limit can sometimes combine this request with a city TABOR request.
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