Press Release: Video Voter 2020

College Students Release Videos on California Ballot Measures

CLAREMONT, CA (October 13, 2020): Students at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College have released videos providing brief, non-partisan analyses of the twelve propositions on California’s November ballot.

Student teams at the Rose Institute have produced the “Video Voter” series every general election year since 2014.

“These videos are designed to benefit all voters, especially those who are younger and get much of their political information through social media and other online platforms,” said Ken Miller, a Government professor at Claremont McKenna College and Associate Director of the Rose Institute.

“Our students are able to explain California’s complex ballot propositions in a concise, accessible way,” Miller said.

Each video is closed-captioned in both English and Spanish.

In past election cycles, the videos have attracted over 100,000 views online.

This year, the project faced new challenges because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Claremont campus to close and required the team to collaborate from a distance.

Eight students, hailing from five different states, worked together over the Internet to research, write, film, and produce videos explaining this year’s ballot measures. Instead of campus backdrops, students appear from remote locations, including their apartments or their parents’ homes.

Nathan Tran, a Pomona College sophomore from Tracy, California, said, “We knew it would be harder to complete the project this year, but we were committed to making it happen. The whole team really wanted to help voters understand ballot measures, without partisan spin.”

“This year’s propositions include many issues that students care about, including affirmative action, rent control, voting rights, and the treatment of drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft,” Tran said.

The videos are available on the Rose Institute website, www.roseinstitute.org, as well as on YouTubeInstagramFacebook, and Twitter.

Contacts: Professor Ken Miller kmiller@cmc.edu

Bipasa Nadon bnadon@cmc.edu

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