The political environment and ballot proposition awareness

Studies that examine whether voters make informed decisions on direct legislation and whether direct legislation enhances civic engagementpresume a basic awareness of ballotpropositions, yet little is known about why some ballotpropositions are more widely known than others. Despite the fact that research on awareness of ballot propositions and political awareness focus on individual factors, the political environment plays a vital role. This study seeks to advance our understanding of environmentalfactors in explaining awareness of ballot propositions. Using data on California ballot elections between the years 1956 and 2000, Ifind that the political environment has a substantial effect on voter awareness. Specifically, I find that the electoral cycle, media coverage, campaign spending, voterfatigue, the number of days before an election, and issues that concern morality, civil liberties, and civil rights contribute to ballot proposition awareness. ew democratic procedures invite as much controversy as direct legislation, the use of ballot propositions to make public law. Because the re-sponsibility for policy making rests in the hands of voters, debates about the desirability of direct legislation often focus on questions of voter competence such as whether or not voters are able to make informed decisions (Bowler and Donovan 1998; Cronin 1989; Gerber and Lupia 1995