For the last few election cycles Speak Out California has been distributing a progressive voter guide, including recommendations on ballot propositions and a chart of how California progressive groups have endorsed. Their guide was a popular, useful way for California progressives to navigate the sometimes confusing propositions. Speak Out is on hiatus until after the election, but the need for a progressive voter guide remains.

The Courage Campaign Issues Committee (disclosure: I’m proud to work with them) has taken up the task, and put together the 2008 Progressive Voter Guide. It includes Courage Campaign’s positions on the 12 propositions, and includes the ever-useful chart of how prominent California progressive organizations have endorsed on the 2008 propositions.

The chart, of course, includes prominently the Calitics ballot proposition recommendations including Yes on Prop 1A, No on Props 4 and 8, and No on Prop 11.

The guide can be downloaded as a PDF or you can get it for your mobile phone by texting VOTECA to 69866.

We are on the cusp of a major progressive breakthrough in California, and part of that involves the 12 ballot measures. This guide can help California progressive make the right choices.

Below is the email we sent out earlier this afternoon to our members announcing the guide:

Dear Robert,

You asked for it. And here it is.

A few weeks ago, we surveyed our members about whether or not the Courage Campaign should provide recommendations on California ballot measures to our nearly 100,000 members and supporters.

Your overwhelming answer: Yes, absolutely!

So, today, we’re launching our 2008 Progressive Voter Guide for the 12 — that’s right, 12 — propositions on California’s November ballot. Our Voter Guide includes not only Courage Campaign recommendations, but also the recommendations of nine other leading California progressive organizations.

Click here to download and print the Courage Campaign’s 2008 Progressive Voter Guide from our web site:

http://www.couragecampaign.org…

The choices you make on this ballot will impact you, your family and friends for decades to come.

We’ve already talked about why we think you should vote “No” on Proposition 8, which would eliminate equal rights for same-sex couples. We’ve also talked about why we think you should vote “No” on Proposition 4, which would undermine teen safety and abortion rights.

But what about the 10 other propositions on the ballot? To help you make your choices in this momentous election, our printable 2008 Progressive Voter Guide includes:

(1) Short, easy-to-read, recommendations from the Courage Campaign.

(2) A handy chart of recommendations from numerous leading progressive organizations across California.

(3) A mobile phone guide that you can easily take into your polling place and send to your friends.

To download our two-page Voter Guide directly to your computer, please click on the button below for a printable PDF document (click the link above to download it from our web site). Then print the guide and take it to the polls or have it at your side as you fill out your vote-by-mail ballot.

With many vote-by-mail ballots already in the hands of voters, please help us spread the word to as many progressives as possible in California. You can start today by forwarding this email and Voter Guide to your family and friends.

Even better: Print your voter guide right now and pass it out to your friends tonight when you watch the presidential debate.

The November election is about more than who will occupy the White House. It is also about California’s future. Together, we can rescue our state and make 2008 a new era for progressive politics in California.

Rick Jacobs

Chair

Courage Campaign

P.S. You can also get this 2008 Progressive Voter Guide sent to your mobile phone:

Just text VOTECA to 69866.

Speak Out California’s 2008 Primary Voter Guide is up.

From the accompanying post:

The February 5th California primary is upon us. Our top rated progressive one stop voter guide for this election focuses on the ballot initiatives and includes links to the independent and highly regarded California Legislative Analyst’s Office’s analysis of each proposition. The seven measures that actually made it on the ballot are primarily about money, and how it should be allocated. The one measure dealing with state governance is the so-called Term Limits initiative. While each of these is important to a particular interest group, none of them really incorporate progressive values nor do they serve to advance or impede the progressive agenda. For that reason, Speak Out California has not taken a position on any of them, but we have tried to distill each measure down to its basic parts so you can decide how you wish to vote on each of them.

For more details on each group’s endorsement, click on the name of the group in the table, and for details about the ballot campaigns, click on the proposition link on the left hand side of the table for a comprehensive research analysis and scroll down to read our summaries.

For updated endorsement coverage be sure to checked back to this page as addiitonal endorsements come in. Make sure everyone you know votes February 5th, but with our values and state under such relentless attack, we all have to do more than vote. Freedom is a constant struggle. One way you can help is by making a donation, or by joining Speak Out California and forwarding this voter information to your friends!