How California Ballot Propositions Work
Oct. 20th, 2022 01:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerI mentioned in my blog post last week, Mailbox Full of Politics, that most of the political advertising I've gotten this election cycle concerns California ballot propositions. Ah, California's notorious system of ballot propositions, our often maligned experiment in direct democracy.
"Isn't there anything else on the ballot to talk about?" some might ask.
Indeed there is! One of our US Senate seats and all of our statewide elected offices (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, etc.) are up for election this year. All of them, though, are lopsided races. There's not much spending there as the results are considered foregone conclusions at this point. That leaves a variety of local races, many of which like those statewide races are uncompetitive... and the ballot propositions.
There are three basic types of propositions that can be placed on the California statewide ballot:
❖ Initiative: This broad category encompasses additions and changes to California law or the California constitution. Within this type are subtypes depending on whether the change affects statute (law) or the constitution, and whether a constitutional amendment has already passed a vote in the legislature. Constitutional amendments must go through a popular vote.
❖ Referendum: A referendum is a vote on a law already passed by the California legislature and signed by the governor. "Yes" is a vote to uphold the already-enacted law; a "No" is a vote to repeal it.
❖ Bond: It's a requirement in the California constitution that all new borrowing via bonds must be approved by a majority of the popular vote— after being approved by a super-majority in the legislature.
It's worth understanding these differences whether you're a California voter or just an armchair observer of politics. Ballot props are not created equal. For example, a common criticism of the process is that "anybody can propose anything"— meaning that props should be regard with skepticism. That is somewhat true for Initiatives but factually false (and misleading) for the other types.
"Isn't there anything else on the ballot to talk about?" some might ask.
Indeed there is! One of our US Senate seats and all of our statewide elected offices (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, etc.) are up for election this year. All of them, though, are lopsided races. There's not much spending there as the results are considered foregone conclusions at this point. That leaves a variety of local races, many of which like those statewide races are uncompetitive... and the ballot propositions.
Three Types of Ballot Props
Ballot propositions, or "props", have been part of California's political process since its founding as a state in 1865. At first they were very limited, though. Their scope was expanded in 1911, as part of the Progressive Era movement to reform the excesses of the Gilded Age in the US. Props would give the people a more direct form of democracy, to vote directly on laws instead of having to rely on their elected representatives to do the right thing— or to do anything at all.There are three basic types of propositions that can be placed on the California statewide ballot:
❖ Initiative: This broad category encompasses additions and changes to California law or the California constitution. Within this type are subtypes depending on whether the change affects statute (law) or the constitution, and whether a constitutional amendment has already passed a vote in the legislature. Constitutional amendments must go through a popular vote.
❖ Referendum: A referendum is a vote on a law already passed by the California legislature and signed by the governor. "Yes" is a vote to uphold the already-enacted law; a "No" is a vote to repeal it.
❖ Bond: It's a requirement in the California constitution that all new borrowing via bonds must be approved by a majority of the popular vote— after being approved by a super-majority in the legislature.
It's worth understanding these differences whether you're a California voter or just an armchair observer of politics. Ballot props are not created equal. For example, a common criticism of the process is that "anybody can propose anything"— meaning that props should be regard with skepticism. That is somewhat true for Initiatives but factually false (and misleading) for the other types.
