As in most elections, Californians’ heads are spinning over the many ballot measures they’re being asked to vote on this year. We’re offering some guidance on the various measures, but first, a little history to underscore why propositions should not be dismissed as less important than candidates.
California has put more ballot measures before voters than any other state since the process began in 1912, a year after the state constitution was amended to allow the passage of legislation or constitutional amendments by popular vote.
The process was intended to promote direct democracy, taking power out of the hands of corporations and other special interests. However, now it’s driven by big money, as backers of various measures usually have to pay signature collectors to assure there are enough valid signatures to get a question on the ballot — this year, the number needed was almost 900,000. Then there’s the advertising to urge a yes or no vote.
Some ballot propositions specifically targeting the LGBTQ community have been hugely impactful. In 1978, for instance, two years after homosexuality was decriminalized in California, voters were asked to bar gays and lesbians (the term LGBTQ hadn’t come into use), plus anyone who publicly supported gay and lesbian rights, from teaching in the state’s public schools. That was Proposition 6, popularly known as the Briggs Initiative, for its original sponsor, Republican state Sen. John Briggs of Orange County.
Nationally renowned politico David Mixner, who had just headed Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s reelection campaign, came out, joined the gay political action committee MECLA, and helped form the statewide No on Prop 6 campaign. It was chaired by attorney Diane Abbitt in the South and San Francisco Supervisor candidate Harvey Milk in the North with help from Sally Miller Gearhart and Cleve Jones. Mixner and partner Peter Scott served as campaign managers, with “lavender menace” lesbian feminist Ivy Bottini and Torie Osborn hired to organize in SoCal. Jeanne Córdova, a second-wave feminist, was media director.
Straight politicians also chimed in against the measure, including Democrats such as L.A. City Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky, who debated Briggs up and down the state, arguing the initiative would also result in the firing of straight educators who supported gay rights. Gov. Jerry Brown and President Jimmy Carter, and even some Republicans, such as former President Gerald Ford and, amazingly, future President Ronald Reagan, also promoted No on Prop 6.
The Briggs Initiative was overwhelmingly defeated on Nov. 7, 1978, by a vote of 58.4 percent to 41.6 percent. Twenty days later, Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated.
Then came the AIDS epidemic. In 1986, right-wing extremist Lyndon LaRouche launched Prop 64, an initiative calling for mandatory HIV/AIDS testing and quarantining of HIV-positive people in internment camps. Michael Weinstein, his best friend Chris Brownlie, and Brownlie’s partner Phill Wilson started the Stop AIDS Quarantine Committee to oppose the horrific and unsuccessful initiative. The energy behind that protest resulted in the founding of the AIDS Hospice Foundation, the Chris Brownlie Hospice, and subsequently, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, now a nonprofit with a $3 billion budget serving three million patients in 50 countries.
The outcome of the presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush wasn’t the only political explosion in 2000. California voters approved Proposition 22, which defined marriage as solely the union between a man and a woman and forbade recognition of same-sex marriages from out of state.
It was known as the Knight Initiative for its original sponsor, Republican state Sen. William “Pete” Knight, who had a gay son and a gay brother. Knight said homosexuality shouldn’t “be accepted as normal.” No state allowed same-sex couples to marry at the time, and the federal government had enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, denying federal recognition to same-sex marriages and allowing states to deny recognition to those performed in any other state.
The California Supreme Court overturned Proposition 22 in May 2008, finding it violated the state constitution, so thereafter, same-sex couples could marry — for a few months. Anti–marriage equality activists weren’t satisfied, so in November 2008, they put Proposition 8 before voters, asking them to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. It passed.
A court challenge ensued, and a federal judge, Vaughn Walker, ruled in 2010 that Proposition 8 violated the U.S. Constitution. An appeals court upheld his ruling in 2012, but the matter was then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The appeal didn’t come from state officials, who refused to defend the measure, but instead from right-wing activists, including the Alliance Defending Freedom.
On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those anti-gay activists didn’t have legal standing to defend Proposition 8, so Walker’s ruling held, and California had marriage equality again. That was the same day the high court struck down the main part of DOMA, the denial of federal recognition.
Other notable California ballot measures include Proposition 13, limiting property taxes, which passed in 1978 and is still in effect, and Proposition 187, passed in 1994, seeking to deny undocumented immigrants public K-12 and higher education, non-emergency health care, and social services. It was challenged in court and eventually voided in a settlement.
Now here’s a look at this year’s 14 statewide ballot measures and what the two major parties, LGBTQ groups, and others have to say about them. Not all of these entities have taken a stand on every proposition; if one isn’t listed, the party or organization hasn’t weighed in. Also, if you don’t want to take any of these folks’ word about the propositions, CalMatters offers quizzes to help you figure out where you stand.
Proposition 1 would empower the state to sell $11.25 billion worth of bonds to fund affordable housing. Equality California supports it, as do Los Angeles County’s Stonewall Democratic Club, San Francisco’s Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, the California Democratic Party, and the state’s three American Civil Liberties Union affiliates: Southern California, Northern California, and San Diego and Imperial Counties.
Proposition 2 would amend the California constitution to let the state put up to 20 percent of general fund tax revenue into its reserves, known as the “rainy day fund.” The current limit is 10 percent. Endorsed by Equality California, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, and the California Democratic Party. Opposed by the California Republican Party.
Proposition 3 would keep income taxes for high earners in the current range of 10.3 percent to 12.3 percent permanently. The tax rates were set to expire in 2031. The taxes fund public schools, community colleges, and public health care, and the proposition is sponsored by the California Teachers Association. Endorsed by Equality California, Stonewall Democratic Club, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, all three ACLU affiliates, and the California Democratic Party. Opposed by the California Republican Party.
Proposition 4 would let state and local governments set up public campaign funds for candidates, something that has been banned for the state and most municipalities since 1988. Endorsed by the Stonewall Democratic Club, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, all three ACLU affiliates, and the California Democratic Party. Opposed by the California Republican Party.
Proposition 5 would amend the California Constitution to change the recall process. Currently, if a public official is recalled, voters choose the official’s replacement at the same time. This would establish a separate election to choose the replacement, and the recalled official would be eligible to run. Endorsed by the Stonewall Democratic Club, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, and the California Democratic Party. Opposed by the California Republican Party.
Proposition 37 would allow the state’s Housing Finance Authority to borrow up to $25 billion from private lenders to help individuals and families buy newly built houses and condominiums. The money would cover much of the down payment, and homebuyers would make payments to the private lenders. Endorsed by the California Democratic Party.
Proposition 38 would allow the state to issue $8.4 billion in bonds to fund research into treatments for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases that can be treated with immunotherapy. The research would be done primarily by the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, which is affiliated with the University of California; other public universities and nonprofit organizations would do some of the research as well. Drugs created through this research would be available to Californians at a 20 percent discount, while 10 percent of the revenue from the drugs would go back to the state.
The proposition’s proponents say it would help make up for federal cuts to medical research funding, but opponents question whether the recently established CIII is ready to do the work and would like to see the funding spread out further, CalMatters reports. Gary Michelson, a billionaire, is the institute’s chief funder and the proposition’s sponsor. However, it’s endorsed by Equality California, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, and both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Proposition 39 is one of the most controversial on the ballot. It would require Californians to show a government-issued identification document when voting. Also, election officials would have to verify that all registered voters are U.S. citizens. This plays into the Trumpian idea that non-citizen voting is widespread, which it is not. The state already requires people to provide an ID and Social Security number when registering to vote, but not at polling places.
One of its major proponents is California Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a pro-Trump gay Republican. He has tried to portray the proposition as bipartisan, but recent polling shows 80 percent of Democrats in the state opposed to it and 92 percent of Republicans in favor. It’s opposed by Equality California, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, Stonewall Democratic Club, all three ACLU affiliates, and the California Democratic Party. Endorsed by the California Republican Party.
Proposition 40, dubbed the “billionaire tax,” is likewise controversial. Californians with a net worth of more than $1 billion would have to pay a one-time 5 percent tax on their assets, mostly to fund health care, with some money for food assistance and education. The legislature could make changes to it, but only by a two-thirds vote.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Xavier Becerra opposes it; he has called it “sketchy policy” that won’t provide a reliable revenue source. Republican nominee Steve Hilton also opposes it, as does the current governor, term-limited Gavin Newsom, who’s voiced concerns that the wealthy will leave the state, therefore reducing tax revenue in the long term. Newsom has floated the idea of a national wealth tax instead.
Equality California opposes it, but the Stonewall Democratic Club and the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club have endorsed it, as has the California Democratic Party. Not surprisingly, the state’s Republican Party opposes it.
Proposition 41 was put on the ballot by opponents of the billionaire tax. This would have the state auditor review special tax propositions before they go on the ballot, therefore making it harder to pass measures like the billionaire tax. If it garners more votes than Proposition 40, the latter would be voided, even if it passes.
The Stonewall Democratic Club, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, the ACLU affiliates, and the California Democratic Party oppose it. The California Republican Party has endorsed it.
Proposition 42 is another attempt to block the billionaire tax and to prevent similar measures from being enacted. It would prohibit new taxes “on the mere ownership of assets such as investment accounts, business interests and personal property — assets that are typically only taxed when they are sold or generate income,” CalMatters explains.
As with Proposition 41, if it gets more votes than Proposition 40, the latter wouldn’t go into effect even if passed. It’s opposed by the Stonewall Democratic Club, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, the ACLU affiliates, and the California Democratic Party. The California Republican Party has endorsed it.
Proposition 43 is another anti-tax measure, but it doesn’t target the billionaire tax. Instead, it would require a two-thirds vote to pass local special tax measures initiated by citizens instead of the current simple majority. “The two-thirds threshold already applies to taxes proposed by local governments but not by individuals,” CalMatters notes.
Equality California, the Stonewall Democratic Club, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, the ACLU chapters, and the California Democratic Party oppose it. The California Republican Party supports it.
Proposition 44 would mandate that clinics serving low-income people spend 90 percent of their yearly revenue on patient care. The state could fine clinics that don’t do so. Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is the sponsor.
Equality California, the Stonewall Democratic Club, and the California Democratic Party oppose it; the latter says it could shut down hundreds of community health centers. The state’s Republican Party also opposes it.
Proposition 45 would speed up reviews of the environmental impact of certain construction projects, such as roads, bridges, schools, and housing, and efforts to prevent wildfires and expand broadband access. It’s supported by business groups and opposed by environmentalists. The L.A. and San Diego ACLU affiliates oppose it, along with the California Democratic Party and the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club. The California Republican Party supports it.
Some of the groups covered here have also taken stands on local ballot measures. Check them out: Equality California; Stonewall Democratic Club; Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club; ACLU of Southern California; and ACLU of Northern California.
The California Secretary of State and Ballotpedia list all local ballot measures in California.
Karen Ocamb contributed to this story.
This is a cross-post from Karen’s LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters Substack.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
