Every election could use a song

As a kid growing up in Los Angeles in the 1970's, I watched a lot of Saturday morning cartoons. In between Bugs Bunny and HR Puffnstuff there would be these musical interludes, called Schoolhouse Rock!. In the early morning hours on a non-school day I would learn about how a bill becomes a law, that three is a magic number, plus some grammar, economics and science thrown in.

I'm guessing many of my fellow GenXers were also strongly influenced by this series. So many times I've reminisced with friends about how valuable it was to learn about important stuff through song.

That's why in 2000, when California voters were facing 20 ballot propositions, I decided to write the first Proposition Song. The idea was simple: give voters a brief, 3-minute overview of each of the propositions on the ballot so they can sort them out and have a better sense of which one does what and what voting yes or no would mean.

The idea of using music and song to inform and entertain people at the same time has a long history.  Folk music originated as a way to pass along knowledge in times of widespread illiteracy. Campaign songs in the U.S. date back to 1824. Songs help win revolutions.

Most of the information voters get in elections comes from the government or campaigns and is in the written form - voter guides, pamphlets, sample ballots. Offering information in an audio/visual format gives voters an alternative to the usual. Happily voters have alternatives this election. In addition to the Proposition Song, there is SeePolitical, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group producing high-quality

two-minute animated videos about the measures on the ballot.

One of the most satisfying parts of creating the Proposition Song is that so many people want to help and participate. About a month ago, I wasn't planning on writing a song this year. With only six propositions on the ballot, I didn't have much material to work with. Plus none of the propositions rose to the "water cooler conversation" level. When CVF board members asked if there'd be a song, I told them I had the proposition blues. Well, they said, write a song about that!

The very next morning I woke up and wrote half of it by 10 a.m. The rest came a few days later. Within a week I'd recruited some friends to play it with me. We rehearsed it on a Tuesday, recorded it two days later, performed it that night, edited the video a few days after that, and released it last week. It all came together very quickly, with many people stepping in to help. I realized the Proposition Song is bigger than me. It is a community project that lots of people look forward to, and putting it all together is honestly one of the most fun parts of my job.