Ballots have been mailed to every California voter, and we already received the state and county voter information guides. These are very helpful: the county guide tells exactly how, when, and where you can vote, listing every drop box and vote center ( the new term for polling place), and of course, in California you can also mail your ballot. A guide of some sort is vital, as there are ten state propositions and two local measures to consider. I’m listing some of them in categories:
Easy-Peasy According to the Quick Reference Guide, Prop. 6 and Prop. 35 have *no* arguments against them! 😊 Prop. 6 changes the Calif. Constitution by eliminating involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. Prop. 35 will make an already-existing tax on managed health care insurance plans permanent; the money is for MediCal (Medicaid) services.
It’s About Time! I’m putting into this category Prop. 3, which will remove from the Calif. Constitution old language stating that marriage is only between a man and a woman--long after same-sex marriage has become legal nationwide. And I personally think that Prop. 36 belongs here. We have a huge problem with retail theft because of current law that makes stealing items worth less than $950 a misdemeanor. For example, all four drugstores that I used to be able to easily reach by bicycle have closed because of theft! Prop. 36 will increase punishment (the specifics are in the Legislative Analysis section of the guide).
Look Who’s Talking! Looking to see who supports and who opposes a measure is the method most of us employ most of the time. Every proposition that will increase taxes is opposed by some taxpayers’ association, like a knee-jerk reaction. In the Sac County booklet, Measure D is explained: bonds would provide money for STEAM classes and school repairs; all the specific projects are listed in detail. Only the Operations Director of the Sacramento Taxpayers Assoc. has signed the argument against it.
What’s Going On Here? Some propositions are more convoluted, and one really has to look further than the Quick Guide at the front. Calif.’s current minimum wage is $16/hr., although it’s higher in some industries: fast food restaurants are required to pay workers at least $20/hr. (!) Prop. 32 would raise the minimum wage to $18/hr. by 2026. The Against argument states that “One person alone—a multimillionaire--wrote Prop. 32, spent millions getting it on the ballot… Even leading advocates for higher minimum wages urged him to pull it from the ballot.” Well, that’s interesting; although, notice that the “against” list consists, predictably, of the Restaurant and Grocers Associations and the Chamber of Commerce. So maybe this is a Look Who’s Talking…
Then we have Props 33 and 34. Under Prop. 33, local governments can enact rent control, unhindered by the state, because “based on the cost of living, we are the poorest state in America” and rent increases outstrip pay increases. Supported by Democrats, teachers, nurses, veterans, and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. So no prob, right? But the opponents assert that it’s “Funded by notorious slumlord” (quoting the L.A. Times) and that it’s a “Trojan Horse that overturns state affordable housing laws.” Hmm. Now look at Prop. 34, seemingly unrelated. It requires certain health care providers to spend the revenues from the government’s discount prescription drug program on direct patient care. Which providers? Ones that spent more than one hundred million dollars on things other than patient care, and that operate multi-family housing with 500 health and safety violations. Sounds specific? Indeed, the opponents call this “the Revenge Initiative,” asserting that its only purpose is to “prevent AIDS Healthcare Foundation from supporting rent control.” So that is how Props 33 and 34 are related, and again, you might want to look at who is supporting or opposing each one, or read the legislative analysis.
Of course, there are many other sources of information about the propositions and candidates, namely on the websites of newspapers and those of radio and TV stations.
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