California Proposition 11 (2008)

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Proposition 11 of 2008 (or the Voters FIRST Act) was a law enacted by California voters that placed the power to draw electoral boundaries for State Assembly and State Senate districts in a Citizens Redistricting Commission, as opposed to the State Legislature. To do this the Act amended both the Constitution of California and the Government Code. [1] The law was proposed by means of the initiative process and was put to voters as part of the November 4, 2008 state elections. In 2010, voters passed Proposition 20 which extended the Citizen Redistricting Commission's power to draw electoral boundaries to include U.S. House seats as well.

California State of the United States of America

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

Constitution of California primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California

The Constitution of California is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. Following cession of the area from Mexico to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican–American War, California's original constitution was drafted in both English and Spanish by delegates elected on August 1, 1849, to represent all communities home to non-indigenous citizens. The delegates wrote and adopted the constitution at the 1849 Constitutional Convention, held beginning on September 3 in Monterey, and voters approved the new constitution on November 13, 1849. Adoption of the "state" constitution actually preceded California's Admission to the Union on September 9, 1850 by almost ten months.

Initiative means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote

In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote in parliament called an indirect initiative or via a direct initiative, the latter then being dubbed a Popular initiated Referendum.

Contents

Provisions

The Act amended Article XXI of the state constitution and enacted Title 2, Division 1, Chapter 3.2 of the Government Code. These changes transfer authority for establishing Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization district boundaries from elected representatives to a fourteen-member commission. The commission is chosen as follows:

  1. Government auditors select sixty registered voters from an applicant pool.
  2. Legislative leaders are permitted to reduce the pool.
  3. Auditors then pick eight commission members by lottery, and those commissioners pick six additional members for a total of fourteen.

The commission must include five commissioners of the largest political party in California (in practice the Democrats), five commissioners from the second largest party (currently the Republicans), and four of neither party. For approval, new district boundaries need votes from three commissioners of the largest party, three from the second largest, and three of the commissioners from neither party. The commission may hire lawyers and consultants to assist it in its work.

The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of California. The party is headquartered in Sacramento, and is led by acting-Chair Alex Gallardo-Rooker.

The California Republican Party (CAGOP) is the California affiliate of the United States Republican Party. The party is based in Sacramento, and is led by Chairwoman Jessica Patterson.

The state legislature retains responsibility for drawing district boundaries for California's Congressional Districts, but the Act adds additional criteria that the legislature must follow in drawing those boundaries.

Supporters

California Common Cause was the advocacy group sponsoring the initiative.

Others supporting the initiative include

AARP is a United States-based interest group whose stated mission is "to empower people to choose how they live as they age." According to the organization, it had more than 38 million members as of 2018.

League of Women Voters Non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group

The League of Women Voters (LWV) is an American civic organization that was formed to help women take a larger role in public affairs after they won the right to vote. It was founded in 1920 to support the new women suffrage rights and was a merger of National Council of Women Voters, founded by Emma Smith DeVoe, and National American Woman Suffrage Association, led by Carrie Chapman Catt, approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote. The League of Women Voters began as a "mighty political experiment" aimed to help newly enfranchised women exercise their responsibilities as voters. Originally, only women could join the league; but in 1973 the charter was modified to include men. LWV operates at the local, state, and national level, with over 1,000 local and 50 state leagues, and one territory league in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Austrian-American actor, businessman, bodybuilder and politician

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American actor, filmmaker, businessman, author, philanthropist, activist, politician, and former professional bodybuilder and powerlifter. He served as the 38th Governor of California, from 2003 to 2011.

Newspaper Editorial boards in favor

<i>Los Angeles Times</i> Daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper which has been published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It has the fourth-largest circulation among United States newspapers, and is the largest U.S. newspaper not headquartered on the East Coast. The paper is known for its coverage of issues particularly salient to the U.S. West Coast, such as immigration trends and natural disasters. It has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of these and other issues. As of June 18, 2018, ownership of the paper is controlled by Patrick Soon-Shiong, and the executive editor is Norman Pearlstine.

<i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> newspaper serving the San Francisco Bay area

The San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The paper is currently owned by the Hearst Corporation, which bought it from the de Young family in 2000. It is the only major daily paper covering the city and county of San Francisco.

Arguments in favor of Prop. 11

Notable arguments that have been made in favor of Prop. 11 include:

Donors supporting Prop 11

As of September 24, three campaign committees supporting Prop. 11 have filed officially with the Secretary of State's office. Some donors have contributed to more than one of these committees. The largest donors altogether are:

Michael Bloomberg American businessman and politician, former mayor of New York City

Michael Rubens Bloomberg KBE is an American businessman, politician, author, and philanthropist. As of March 2019, his net worth was estimated at $55.5 billion, making him the 8th-richest person in the United States and the 9th richest person in the world. He has joined The Giving Pledge, whereby billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their wealth. To date, Bloomberg has given away $8.2 billion, including his November 2018 $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins University for student aid — the largest private donation ever made to a higher education institution.

Reed Hastings entrepreneur and education philanthropist

Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Netflix and serves on the boards of Facebook and a number of non-profit organizations. A former member of the California State Board of Education, Hastings is an advocate for education reform through charter schools.

Netflix American multinational entertainment company

Netflix, Inc. is an American media-services provider headquartered in Los Gatos, California, founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California. The company's primary business is its subscription-based streaming OTT service which offers online streaming of a library of films and television programs, including those produced in-house. As of January 2019, Netflix had over 139 million paid subscriptions worldwide, including 58.49 million in the United States, and over 148 million subscriptions total including free trials. It is available almost worldwide except in mainland China, Syria, North Korea, Iran, and Crimea. The company also has offices in the Netherlands, Brazil, India, Japan, and South Korea. Netflix is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

City of Pasadena endorses

On Monday, March 10, 2008 the Pasadena City Council became the first California city to endorse the proposition. [13]

Path to the ballot

Kimball Petition Management was paid $2,332,988 from two separate campaign committees to collect signatures to put this measure on the ballot. [14] [15] [16] [17] Signatures to qualify the measure for the California 2008 ballot measures|November 2008 ballot were submitted to election officials on May 6, 2008. On June 17, the California Secretary of State announced that a check of the signatures had established that the measure qualifies for the ballot., [18] [19]

Supporters file campaign financing complaint

In late August, supporters of Prop. 11 filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission because the California Correctional Peace Officers Associationa group that opposes Prop. 11gave contributions totaling $577,000 to the Leadership California committee, which is a campaign committee associated with state senate leader Don Perata. The Prop. 11 group said that it was wrong for the police officers union to give the money to the Perata committee rather than directly to the No on 11, and also alleged that the police union was trying to curry favor with Perata. Days later, the FPPC took the rare step of rejecting the complaint without conducting an investigation. [20] [21]

Opposition

The official committee set up to oppose Proposition 11 was called "Citizens for Accountability; No on Proposition 11". [22] Paul Hefner is the spokesman for the "No on 11" effort. [23]

Opponents to Prop. 11 include

Arguments against Prop. 11

Arguments that have been claimed in opposition to Prop. 11 include:

Democrat against Democrat

Kathay Feng, the main author of the initiative, and director of California Common Cause, said in late June that since the measure qualified for the ballot and the California Democratic Party had announced its opposition, there had been an attempt to bring everybody into line and to encourage those in support of the measure to oppose it. [28]

Donations to opposition campaign

As of September 24, the opposition committee, "Citizens for Accountability; No on 11", had raised $350,000:

Polling information

A poll released on July 22, 2008 by Field Poll showed Proposition 11 with 42% support and 30% opposition. [30] A late August poll released by the Public Policy Institute of California showed Prop. 11 with 39% of voters in support. [31]

Month of Poll Polling company In Favor Opposed Undecided
July 2008 Field 42 percent 30 percent 28 percent
August 2008 PPIC 39 percent 36 percent 25 percent
Sept. 2008 PPIC 38 percent 33 percent 29 percent [32]

Result of vote

Electoral results by county. CA2008Prop11.png
Electoral results by county.
Proposition 11 [33]
Choice Votes %
Yes check.svg Yes6,095,03350.82
No 5,897,655 49.18
Valid votes 11,992,688 87.26
Invalid or blank votes 1,750,489 12.74
Total votes13,743,177100.00

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References

  1. Full text of Proposition 11
  2. Arnold in Remap X Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine ., Newsblog, Dec. 3, 2007
  3. Governor to lead effort to pass redistrict measure, San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 4, 2007
  4. Los Angeles Times, "California needs re-districting reform", September 12, 2008
  5. San Francisco Chronicle, "Why Californians should support Prop. 11", September 12, 2008
  6. Voters First Ballot Language Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine .
  7. Proposition 11 arguments in the California voter's guide Archived 2008-10-02 at the Wayback Machine .
  8. Field Poll makes case for Prop 11, backers say Archived 2008-09-22 at the Wayback Machine .
  9. Sacramento Bee, "Budget signed, Schwarzenegger sets sights on re-districting", September 24, 2008
  10. Record of donors to Prop 11
  11. Mercury News, Fundraising, alliances on agenda during Schwarzenegger trip, April 16, 2008
  12. 1 2 3 http://www.contracostatimes.com/election/ci_10750272
  13. Pasadena Now, City Council Endorses Redistricting Reform Initiative, March 11, 2008 Archived October 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine .
  14. Expenditure detail for Voters First
  15. Expenditure detail for the California Dream Team
  16. The governor, the money, and Prop. 11
  17. Rose Report, "Common Cause/League of Women Voters Support Redistricting Reform" Archived 2009-06-04 at the Wayback Machine .
  18. KPBS News, Governor Schwarzenegger Submits Redistricting Initiative, May 7, 2008
  19. Governor to chair drive to qualify redistricting measure, San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 3, 2007
  20. Oakland Tribune, "Complaint filed over union's contributions to Perata", August 28, 2008
  21. Inside Bay Area, "Money-laundering suit washes out", September 18, 2008
  22. No on Prop. 11
  23. San Francisco Chronicle Politics Blog, "Democrats Break Ranks on Prop. 11", August 13, 2008
  24. Arguments against Prop. 11 from the "No on 11" website
  25. Los Angeles Times, "Would Proposition 11 hurt minorities?", July 27, 2008
  26. FEC sets fundraising cap on ballot measure, The Sacramento Bee , Dec. 15, 2007
  27. Governor to chair drive to qualify redistricting measure, Fresno Bee, Dec. 3, 2007
  28. Contra Costa Times, Democratic leaders accused of pressuring supporters of redistricting measure, June 21, 2008
  29. Details of $5,000+ donations to No on 11
  30. July 22 Field Poll results on Proposition 11
  31. Contra Costa Times, "Complaint filed over union's contributions to Perata, August 28, 2008
  32. San Francisco Chronicle, "Poll: Same-sex marriage ban not wooing voters", September 25, 2008
  33. "Statement of Vote: 2008 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 2008-12-13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-18.

Additional reading