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As you (hopefully) know, we have a very important election coming up on Nov. 3rd. Of course, the main event is voting for the president. However, as California residents, you will also be voting on a number of Propositions. So, that’s where the idea of this extra credit assignment stems from.

There are 12 Propositions, and some of the issues include: Stem Cell Research, Affirmative Action, Voting at Age 17, Rent Control, and other very important issues that affect all of us in California. The purpose behind this assignment is to get you to register to vote (Links to an external site.), in case you haven’t yet (the deadline is the 19th of October), and to become more knowledgeable about what you will be voting about. Finally, our next essay will be based on one of these Propositions, so this will give you a chance to get familiar with some of the topics.

The actual assignment: Go to California Matters (Links to an external site.), and scroll down a bit so you can see all of the Propositions. Then, choose any one Proposition, read about it on the web site, and watch the one minute film (you may want to do more research beyond the web site). Then, I would like you to write one paragraph for each of the following three sections for a total of about 500-750 words (about two pages in MLA format). As long as you follow all the guidelines, you will receive 15 extra credit points.

• A summary or overview of the Proposition (I don’t want you to just copy and paste from the web site, but to put it in your own words)
• An overview of why one should vote “Yes” or “No” on the Proposition based on the information on Cal Matters
• Where you stand on the Proposition and why

That’s about it. Remember, this is not a mandatory assignment but a chance to become more knowledgeable about the upcoming election, get some practice with summary and argument, and pick up some extra credit points!