CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 21% 78% 90% 10% 1997 29 69 88 7 1996 34 57 88 5 1995 16 82 92 2 1994 49 42 86 6 1993 41 59 92 5 1992 80 19 91 7 1991 81 18 94 3 1990 70 29 91 6 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 99 1997 96 1996 93 1995 93 1994 92 1993 97 1992 97 1991 96 1990 98	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 15% n/a 83% 76 % 1997 5 0 100 80 1996 0 0 100 100 1995 0 0 100 84 1994 10 25 92 95 1993 10 8 73 96 1992 15 50 75 84 1991 10 8 90 85 1990 11 0 86 92
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

CALIFORNIA 23 : Most of Ventura County; Oxnard; Ventura; Simi Valley

The 23rd includes nearly all of Ventura County, where a boom of people arriving from the Los Angeles Basin in the 1980s created a new congressional district in 1992. The district is a mix of lower-income farming communities and more upscale residential neighborhoods, such as Moorepark in the southeast, a small but fast-growing city.

Although Democrats have a slight voter registration advantage, Republicans do well in the 23rd, making national elections unpredictable. Oxnard, the largest city in Ventura County, is considered a Democratic pocket and has a large Latino population employed in the area's fertile agricultural industry. Overall, the district is nearly one-third Hispanic.

Ventura County, which absorbed much of the destruction of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, is seeing strong growth in its electronics, finance and insurance sectors. The county grew so much that it passed a slow-growth ballot initiative in 1998 in an effort to stave off urban sprawl. The 23rd benefited from base closures in other areas that transferred military personnel and operations to its three military bases.

Major Industry
Agriculture, military, electronics

Military Bases
Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, 1,557 military, 3,035 civilian; Naval Construction Battalion Center, 3,812 military, 4,495 civilian; California Air National Guard, 1,215 military, 230 civilian (1998)

Population
571,562 (1990)

Cities
Ventura (pt.), 557,604 (1990); Oxnard, 156,000; Simi Valley, 106,000 (1998 est.)

People
84% urban; 10% age 65+ (ranks 34 of 52 in state; bottom third nationally); 63% married couples, 33% married couples with children; 21% college educated (ranks 26 of 52 in state; middle third nationally); 58% white collar (ranks 29 of 52 in state; middle third nationally), 25% blue collar (ranks 22 of 52 in state; middle third nationally) (1990)

Race
77% white, 3% black, 5% Asian; 30% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$42,989 (ranks 15 of 52 in state; top third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
Simi Valley hosted five U.S. presidents in 1991 to dedicate the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, largest gathering of presidents in 202 years; All-white Simi Valley jury acquitted the police officers accused of beating Rodney King.

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