A house goes up for rent. (Photo: Andy Dean Photography)So far, most of the sound and fury in California politics has revolved around candidates. But there are increasing signs that ballot initiatives may trigger additional uproar in 2018. The latest November filing is an effort to remove a 20-year barrier to local rent control, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)Substantive amendments deal with the core of the bill. But there are also important technical amendments that need to be made to legislation, often to ensure that the bills are properly enacted into statutes.
A Latino political rally in Los Angeles. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)OPINION: Starting later this year, a new law will begin to automatically register to vote millions of people who are getting (or renewing) a driver’s license in California, unless they opt out. Over time, this law is expected to dramatically increase the number registered voters in California and many political experts believe it will have huge implications for future political campaigns.
Latinos at a Los Angeles demonstration on immigration policy. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)This story is really about two populations that we have known could, someday, dominate California elections: Millennials and Latinos. The Latino vote has been repeatedly spoken of as a political “sleeping giant,” evoking the sense that this population could awaken and shake the foundations of our elections.
A voters hows his badge of independence. (Photo: Joe Belanger, via Shutterstock)Donald Trump is not just the Republican presidential nominee in California. If you got your ballot in the mail, you might have noticed one little oddity: Under Donald Trump’s name you’ll find not only his Republican Party, but also the little known American Independent Party (AIP).
A California ballot box. (Photo illustration, Hafakot, via Shutterstock)It’s like a poker game: If you want to play, you have to ante up. And this year, the ante for Nov. 8 was nearly $48 million. That’s how much the rival interests for an array of initiatives paid to get on the ballot. That’s not money spent on the merits of the initiatives. It’s the money spent simply to get the propositions before the public.
A voter casts his ballot in Ventura County during the 2016 primary election. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, Shutterstock)Election count hacking has become a front and center fear during this presidential election cycle in at least two states, but it’s almost certain that Californians can rest easy. At least, that’s the word in California.
Participants in a panel discussion of Proposition 62 and 66. Attorney Nancy Haydt, right; Michele Hanisee of the L.A. County Deputy District Attorneys Association, center; and Anne Marie Schubert, Sacramento County district attorney. (Photo: Scott Duncan/Capitol Weekly)It was a wonkish wonderland. Capital Public Radio and Capitol Weekly combined forces Thursday to stage the first “California Votes” series of panel discussions on six of the most controversial ballot measures voters will face on November 8.
U.S. Senate election, 2012In little more than a decade, mail-in or “absentee” voting for statewide elections quadrupled, from 4.4 percent in 1978 to 18.4 percent in 1990, reflecting in part legal changes making it easier to vote absentee. Since the 1990s, mail-in ballots have increased exponentially. In the 2008 primary, 58 percent of the voters cast mail-in ballots, the first time in a California statewide election that mail-in ballots represented more than half the vote. In primaries since then, mail-in voting has risen steadily to a remarkable 65 percent in 2012. In the November 2012 general election, mail-in ballots accounted for about 51 percent. (Above: 2012 U.S. Senate election map/Kurykh, Wikimedia))