The Golden State of Electoral Affairs

Byuclafaculty

As readers of this blog will know, there will be all kinds of exciting propositions on the state ballot this coming November, including the governor’s tax initiative that the Regents have endorsed. Since this is a sleepy weekend with not much happening UC-wise, here is a little lesson in direct democracy.

Apart from the various tax and other initiatives, there is a referendum, Prop 40. A referendum is a proposition which – like an initiative – is put on the ballot via a petition. But while an initiative creates legislation or a constitutional amendment, a referendum repeals legislation that has already been passed.

In this case, Prop 40 aims at repealing a voter-enacted redistricting initiative.  Voters, in a two-step process, created a redistricting commission, thus taking redistricting after the 2010 Census out of the hands of the legislature.  The commission redistricted the state assembly, state senate, and congressional boundaries. Having such a commission was a long-time dream of the GOP, which disliked boundaries drawn up by the majority Democrats in the legislature. But when the commission was actually created, the GOP didn’t like the new boundaries and ultimately put a referendum on the ballot to undo just the state senate boundaries.

For reasons explained in an article in today’s Sacramento Bee, having spent the money to get the needed signatures, the GOP decided it didn’t support its own referendum after all. You’ll find a link to the article below.  So it now wants you to kill the referendum. But how do you do that? You do it by voting “yes.” Why? Because by voting “yes,” you are affirming the already-enacted legislation that the referendum was supposed to kill. Got that?

The article is at
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/08/gop-turning-180-degrees-to-oppose-its-redistricting-referendum.html

And here’s a little appropriate music to go along with this story:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjaSPPb81jQ?feature=player_detailpage]
Didn’t get all the words?  See below:

I love You California (official state song – written 1913)
Written by F. B. Silverwood
Composed by A. F. Frankenstein
I love you, California, you’re the greatest state of all
I love you in the winter, summer, spring, and in the fall.
I love your fertile valleys; your dear mountains I adore,
I love your grand old ocean and I love her rugged shore.
chorus
I love your redwood forests – love your fields of yellow grain,
I love your summer breezes, and I love your winter rain,
I love you, land of flowers; land of honey, fruit and wine,
I love you, California; you have won this heart of mine.
chorus
I love your old gray Missions – love your vineyards streteching far,
I love you, California, with your Golden Gate ajar,
I love your purple sunsets, love your skies of azure blue,
I love you, California; I just can’t help loving you.
chorus
I love you, Catalina – you are very dear to me,
I love you, Tamalpais, and I love Yosemite,
I love you, Land of Sunshine, half your beauties are untold,
I loved you in my childhood, and I’ll love you when I’m old.
chorus
When the snow crowned Golden Sierras
Keep their watch o’er the valleys bloom.
It is there I would be in our land by the sea,
Ev’ry breeze bearing rich perfume,
It is here nature gives of her rarest,
It is Home Sweet Home to me.
And I know when I die I shall breathe my last sigh
For my sunny California.

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