Elections

1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: Most bills winding through the Legislature follow a months-long process with multiple votes by lawmakers and lots of opportunity for the public to give input. But not always. The political majority (currently Democrats) can waive the normal rules and jam […]

1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: Californians voted to increase taxes on the state’s wealthiest earners in 2012, seeking to replenish education funding accounts depleted during the recession. Four years later, the economy is recovering and the tax increase is slated to end after 2018. Education […]

1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: Tobacco is often the target of politicians seeking money for state programs, with mixed success across the country. In California, voters have rejected multiple ballot box attempts over the years to raise taxes on cigarettes, and the state is among […]

1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: Four decades ago, Gov. Jerry Brown embraced tough-on-crime laws that filled the state’s prisons. The overcrowding led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule the state must reduce its prison population and improve medical care to inmates. California has moved lower-level […]

1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: Swept up by anti-immigrant politics nearly 20 years ago, California voters approved an initiative that required school children be taught almost exclusively in English. The measure triggered anger in some immigrant communities, where it was viewed as an attack on […]

1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: The U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United has become a political flashpoint for Americans turned off by the billions of dollars spent to sway elections. The 2010 ruling allowed unions and corporations to spend unlimited amounts on political […]

1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: This is the rare ballot measure that requires you to think about sex. Because here in California—home to a $9 billion pornography industry—that most personal of acts is also a jobs issue and a public health concern. Four years ago, […]

Background: Many Americans are angry about rising pharmaceutical prices and politicians have taken notice. Presidential candidates this year debated how to contain costs, and California lawmakers proposed fixes that never passed out of the statehouse. Drug prices are a big deal not only for consumers who are forced to pay more for prescriptions, but also […]

 Prop. 62  Prop. 66 1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: Whether for or against the death penalty, both sides agree the criminal justice system isn’t working. Since the 1978 passage of the death penalty in California, 15 of the 930 individuals who received a death sentence […]

1oo percent of precincts reporting partial returns—will be updated when all results are certified. Background: Even though California has some of the toughest gun restrictions in the country, political will intensified this year to pass even stiffer laws. Motivated in part by the December shooting in San Bernardino that left 14 people dead, Democrats in […]