The California state special elections, 2009 were held on May 19, 2009 throughout the state of California. The elections were authorized by the State Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a part of a budget signed into law on February 19, 2009. Voters voted on six ballot propositions, 1A through 1F, for the open 26th State Senate district seat, and in a primary for the open 32nd congressional district seat. All of the propositions except 1F were defeated.
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.
The California State Legislature is a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislature convene at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The California State Legislature is one of just ten full-time state legislatures in the United States.
The Governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The California Governor is the chief executive of the state government and the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Military Reserve.
In February 2009 the State Legislature narrowly passed the 2008–2009 state budget during a special session, months after it was due. As part of the plan to lower the state's annual deficits, the State Legislature ordered a special election with various budget reform ballot propositions. [1]
Proposition 1A was a constitutional amendment that would have increased the annual contributions to the state's rainy day fund.
A rainy day or rainy day fund is a reserved amount of money to be used in times when regular income is disrupted or decreased in order for typical operations to continue. In the United States, the term is usually used to apply to the funds maintained by most U.S. states to help deal with budget shortfalls in years where revenues do not match expenditures. This is critical to the operations of most states, which do not permit their governments to take on debt, meaning that services would have to be cut in the absence of reserve funds.
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
3,152,141 | 65.39 | |
Yes | 1,668,216 | 34.61 |
Valid votes | 4,820,357 | 98.94 |
Invalid or blank votes | 51,588 | 1.06 |
Total votes | 4,871,945 | 100.00 |
Registered voters and turnout | 17,153,012 | 28.40 |
Proposition 1B would have secured additional funding for primary education, but only if Proposition 1A passed as well.
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
2,975,560 | 61.86 | |
Yes | 1,834,242 | 38.14 |
Valid votes | 4,809,802 | 98.72 |
Invalid or blank votes | 62,143 | 1.28 |
Total votes | 4,871,945 | 100.00 |
Registered voters and turnout | 17,153,012 | 28.40 |
Proposition 1C was a constitutional amendment that would have made significant changes to the operation of the State Lottery.
The California State Lottery, also known as the California Lottery, began on November 6, 1984, after California voters passed Proposition 37, the California State Lottery Act of 1984, to authorize the creation of a lottery. The first tickets were sold on October 3, 1985.
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
3,085,138 | 64.35 | |
Yes | 1,708,800 | 35.65 |
Valid votes | 4,793,938 | 98.40 |
Invalid or blank votes | 78,007 | 1.60 |
Total votes | 4,871,945 | 100.00 |
Registered voters and turnout | 17,153,012 | 28.40 |
Proposition 1D would have authorized a one-time reallocation of tobacco tax revenue to help balance the state budget.
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
3,157,680 | 65.91 | |
Yes | 1,633,107 | 34.09 |
Valid votes | 4,790,787 | 98.33 |
Invalid or blank votes | 81,158 | 1.67 |
Total votes | 4,871,945 | 100.00 |
Registered voters and turnout | 17,153,012 | 28.40 |
Proposition 1E would have authorized a one-time reallocation of income tax revenue to help balance the state budget.
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
3,169,163 | 66.48 | |
Yes | 1,597,907 | 33.52 |
Valid votes | 4,767,070 | 97.85 |
Invalid or blank votes | 104,875 | 2.15 |
Total votes | 4,871,945 | 100.00 |
Registered voters and turnout | 17,153,012 | 28.40 |
Proposition 1F prohibited pay raises for members of the State Legislature, the Governor, and other state officials during deficit years.
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
3,565,419 | 74.23 | |
No | 1,237,694 | 25.77 |
Valid votes | 4,803,113 | 98.59 |
Invalid or blank votes | 68,832 | 1.41 |
Total votes | 4,871,945 | 100.00 |
Registered voters and turnout | 17,153,012 | 28.40 |
Among likely voters:
Proposition | Yes | No |
---|---|---|
1A | 57% | 21% |
1B | 53% | 30% |
1C | 47% | 39% |
1D | 54% | 24% |
1E | 57% | 23% |
1F | 77% | 13% |
SurveyUSA Poll: March 11–12, 2009 (commissioned by KABC-TV, KFSN-TV, KGTV-TV, and KPIX-TV)
KABC-TV, channel 7, is an ABC owned-and-operated television station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States. The station is owned by the ABC Owned Television Stations subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. KABC-TV maintains studios and offices on Circle Seven Drive in Glendale, California, and its transmitter is located on Mount Wilson.
KFSN-TV, virtual and UHF digital channel 30, is an ABC owned-and-operated television station licensed to Fresno, California, United States. The station is owned by the ABC Owned Television Stations subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. KFSN-TV's studios are located on G Street in downtown Fresno, and its transmitter is located on Bear Mountain, near Meadow Lakes, California.
KPIX-TV, virtual channel 5, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by the CBS Television Stations subsidiary of CBS Corporation, as part of a duopoly with CW West Coast flagship KBCW, also licensed to San Francisco.
Among likely voters:
Proposition | Yes | No |
---|---|---|
1A | 27% | 29% |
1B | 38% | 30% |
1C | 28% | 29% |
1D | 40% | 28% |
1E | 36% | 30% |
1F | 27% | 31% |
Among likely voters:
Proposition | Yes | No |
---|---|---|
1A | 39% | 46% |
1B | 44% | 41% |
1C | 37% | 50% |
1D | 48% | 36% |
1E | 47% | 37% |
1F | 81% | 13% |
SurveyUSA Poll: April 20–21, 2009 (commissioned by KABC-TV, KFSN-TV, KGTV-TV, and KPIX-TV)
Among likely voters:
Proposition | Yes | No |
---|---|---|
1A | 29% | 42% |
1B | 37% | 42% |
1C | 23% | 41% |
1D | 37% | 39% |
1E | 32% | 41% |
1F | 32% | 34% |
Among likely voters:
Proposition | Yes | No |
---|---|---|
1A | 40% | 49% |
1B | 40% | 49% |
1C | 32% | 59% |
1D | 40% | 49% |
1E | 40% | 51% |
1F | 71% | 24% |
A special election to fill the 26th district of the State Senate was called by Governor Schwarzenegger on December 10, 2008 as a consequence of the resignation of former State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas following his election to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. A special primary election was held on March 24, 2009, and the special election was held on May 19, 2009. [3]
A total of eight candidates registered for the special election, but only three qualified for the special election: [4]
An open primary election for the special election was held on March 24, 2009. Since no candidate won a majority, the candidates with the top votes for each party advanced to the special general election. Price won more votes than any other Democrat while Shifren and Henderson were the only candidates of their parties. [5]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Curren Price | 10,864 | 35.84 | |
Democratic | Mike Davis | 6,471 | 21.35 | |
Democratic | Robert Cole | 4,160 | 13.72 | |
Republican | Nachum Shifren | 3,371 | 11.12 | |
Democratic | Jonathan Friedman | 2,497 | 8.24 | |
Democratic | Saundra Davis | 2,262 | 7.46 | |
Peace and Freedom | Cindy Henderson | 525 | 1.73 | |
Democratic | Mervin Evans | 165 | 0.54 | |
Valid ballots | 30,315 | 98.19 | ||
Invalid or blank votes | 558 | 1.81 | ||
Total votes | 30,873 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | 7.91 |
In the special runoff election, Democratic Curren Price won by a large margin, beating Republican Nachum Schifren and Peace and Freedom Party candidate Cindy Henderson. [6]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Curren Price | 37,677 | 70.72 | |
Republican | Nachum Shifren | 11,097 | 20.83 | |
Peace and Freedom | Cindy Henderson | 4,501 | 8.45 | |
Valid ballots | 53,275 | 83.24 | ||
Invalid or blank votes | 10,726 | 16.76 | ||
Total votes | 64,001 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | 18.59 | |||
Democratic hold | ||||
A special election to fill the 32nd congressional district was called by Governor Schwarzenegger on March 10, 2009 as a consequence of the resignation of former Congresswoman Hilda Solis following her appointment as United States Secretary of Labor. The special primary election was May 19, 2009 while the special election was held on July 14, 2009. [7] The election was won by Democrat Judy Chu, who became the first Chinese American woman elected to serve in Congress.
In the May 19 primary, Democrat Judy Chu led all candidates, but failed to gain enough to prevent a runoff general election. Betty Chu qualified as the Republican candidate for the runoff and Christopher Agrella qualified as the Libertarian. [2]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Judy Chu | 17,661 | 32.64 | |
Democratic | Gil Cedillo | 12,570 | 23.23 | |
Democratic | Emanuel Pleitez | 7,252 | 13.40 | |
Republican | Betty Chu | 5,648 | 10.44 | |
Republican | Teresa Hernandez | 4,581 | 8.47 | |
Republican | David Truax | 3,303 | 6.10 | |
Democratic | Francisco Alonso | 1,097 | 2.03 | |
Libertarian | Christopher Agrella | 654 | 1.21 | |
Democratic | Benita Duran | 659 | 1.22 | |
Democratic | Stefan Lysenko | 246 | 0.45 | |
Democratic | Nick Mostert | 244 | 0.45 | |
Democratic | Rafael Nadal | 200 | 0.37 | |
Republican | Larry Scarborough (write-in) | 1 | 0.00 | |
Valid ballots | 54,116 | 94.57 | ||
Invalid or blank votes | 3,106 | 5.43 | ||
Total votes | 57,222 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | 26.21 |
In the special runoff election, Democratic Judy Chu won by a significant margin, beating Republican Betty Chu and Libertarian candidate Christopher Agrella. [8]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Judy Chu | 16,194 | 61.85 | |
Republican | Betty Chu | 8,630 | 32.96 | |
Libertarian | Christopher Agrella | 1,356 | 5.18 | |
Independent | Eleanor Garcia (write-in) | 2 | 0.01 | |
Valid ballots | 26,182 | 98.99 | ||
Invalid or blank votes | 267 | 1.01 | ||
Total votes | 26,449 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | 10.79 | |||
Democratic hold | ||||
Proposition 57 was a California ballot proposition on the March 2, 2004 primary election ballot. It was passed with 4,056,313 (63.4%) votes in favor and 2,348,910 (36.6%) against. The proposition authorized the state to sell $15 billion in long-term bonds to pay off accumulated deficits. Proposition 57 went into effect only because Proposition 58 also passed.
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. The system is almost totally confined to elections in the United States. Some U.S. states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker, with the write-in candidate's name, to the ballot in lieu of actually writing in the candidate's name. Write-in candidacies are sometimes a result of a candidate being legally or procedurally ineligible to run under his or her own name or party; write-in candidacies may be permitted where term limits bar an incumbent candidate from being officially nominated for, or being listed on the ballot for, re-election. In some cases, write-in campaigns have been organized to support a candidate who is not personally involved in running; this may be a form of draft campaign.
The 2006 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6, 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won re-election for his first and only full term. His main opponent was California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, the California Democratic Party nominee. Peter Camejo was the California Green Party nominee, Janice Jordan was the Peace and Freedom Party nominee, Art Olivier was the California Libertarian Party nominee, and Edward C. Noonan was the California American Independent Party nominee.
Gilbert Anthony Cedillo is an American politician, currently a member of the Los Angeles City Council for District 1, succeeding Ed Reyes after his election on May 21, 2013. Cedillo was a Democratic member of both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate.
In the fall of 2005, a special election was held in the 48th Congressional District of California to choose a United States Representative to replace Republican Christopher Cox, who resigned effective August 2, 2005, to become Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A Special primary election was held on October 4. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a runoff general election took place on December 6, 2005. The top vote getter from each party moved to the runoff contest, which only required a candidate to receive a plurality of the vote. Republican candidate John Campbell ultimately won the runoff with only 44% of the vote, as there were three major candidates.
Elections in California are held to fill various local, state and federal seats. In California, regular elections are held every even year ; however, some seats have terms of office that are longer than two years, so not every seat is on the ballot in every election. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Recall elections can also be held. Additionally, statewide initiatives, legislative referrals and referenda may be on the ballot.
Electoral reform in California refers to efforts to change election and voting laws in the West Coast state of California.
The California state elections, February 2008 were held on February 5, 2008 throughout California. Presidential primaries and a special election for a State Assembly seat were among the contests held. Seven ballot propositions were also decided on.
The 2008 United States presidential election in California took place on November 4, 2008, in California as part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 55 electors, the most out of any of the 50 states, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. California was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama with a 24.1% margin of victory. No Republican has carried the state in a presidential election since 1988.
California's 12th congressional district special election, 2008 occurred on April 8, 2008. California's 12th congressional district was vacated following the death of Democrat Tom Lantos on February 11, 2008. The special election was called by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to fill the vacancy for the remainder of Lantos's term ending on January 3, 2009. The special election took the form of an open primary. Another election would have taken place on June 3 had no candidate received a majority.
Proposition 11 of 2008 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. 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.
The California state elections, June 2010 were held on June 8, 2010 and included five propositions and two special elections, one for a State Senate seat and the other for a State Assembly seat. Primary elections for all statewide offices, a seat to the United States Senate, all Californian seats to the House of Representatives, all of the seats of the State Assembly, and all even-numbered seats of the State Senate, along with the first round election for the nonpartisan Superintendent of Public Instruction were also held.
California's 32nd congressional district special election, 2009 occurred on July 14, 2009, to fill the vacancy in California's 32nd congressional district. The election was won by Democrat Judy Chu, who became the first Chinese American woman elected to serve in Congress.
Proposition 1B was a defeated California ballot proposition that appeared on the May 19, 2009 special election ballot. The measure was legislatively referred to the ballot by the State Legislature. If passed it would have secured additional funding for primary education. Additionally, Proposition 1B would have only passed if Proposition 1A passed as well.
Proposition 1F of 2009 was a measure approved by California voters relating to the salaries of state officers. It was an amendment of the Constitution of California prohibiting pay raises for members of the State Legislature, the Governor, and other state officials during deficit years. It was proposed by the legislature and approved in a referendum held as part of the May 19, 2009 special election ballot, in which the California electorate also voted on five other propositions.
Proposition 14 is a California ballot proposition that appeared on the ballot during the June 2010 state elections. It was a constitutional amendment that effectively transformed California's non-Presidential elections from first-past-the-post to a nonpartisan blanket primary. The proposition was legislatively referred to voters by the State Legislature and approved by 54% of the voters.
The California state elections, November 2010 were held on November 2, 2010.
The California state elections, June 2012 were held on June 5, 2012 and included two propositions, primary elections for each party's nominee for President, and primary elections to determine the top-two candidates for California's Class I seat to the United States Senate, all of California's seats to the House of Representatives, all of the seats of the State Assembly, and all odd-numbered seats of the State Senate, who will compete against each other in a run-off on November 6, 2012.
Redistricting in California has historically been highly controversial. Critics have accused legislators of attempting to protect themselves from competition by gerrymandering districts. Conflicts between the governor and the legislature during redistricting often have only been resolved by the courts.
In California state elections, 2014 was the first year in which the top statewide offices were elected under the nonpartisan blanket primary, pursuant to Proposition 14, which passed with 53% voter approval in June 2010. Under this system, which first went into effect during the 2012 election year, all candidates will appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. The top two finishers, regardless of party, then advance to face each other in the general election in November.