California voters only decided one proposition on the March primary ballot — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mental health measure that barely passed — but will get their say on 10 in November.
With your choices, you’ll help steer state policy on crime, health care, rent control and more. You can change the state constitution on gay marriage and involuntary labor. You’ll also decide whether to add $20 billion to the state debt. (If you’re wondering why you’re being asked to decide some rather complicated issues, here’s our explainer on that.)
You could have had many more propositions to figure out, but five were negotiated off the ballot in last-minute deals and Newsom scrapped an alternative anti-crime measure.
You can start voting this week: Monday was the deadline for county election offices to start mailing ballots. To be counted, they have to be postmarked by Nov. 5 and received by election offices by Nov. 12.
So far, public polls suggest the high-profile crime measure will pass overwhelmingly, but measures to raise the minimum wage, allow cities to impose rent control and to make it easier for local governments to borrow could be much closer. One survey also indicates that voters will approve the constitutional amendment on same-sex marriage, but not the one on forced prison labor. And the bond issues for schools and climate action could be up in the air.
Here’s more information on state proposition; who’s for and against them (and their arguments.) We will be highlighting these all week long.
Proposition 2: School Bond
What would it do?
Proposition 2 would provide $8.5 billion to K-12 schools and $1.5 billion to community colleges to renovate, fix and construct facilities. The money would be distributed through matching grants, with the state paying a greater share of costs for less affluent districts and those with higher numbers of English learners and foster youth. Some of the money would be set aside for removing lead from water, creating transitional kindergarten classrooms and building career and technical education facilities.
Why is it on the ballot?
Thousands of California school buildings are in poor shape, with leaky roofs, broken air conditioning, peeling paint and other health and safety hazards. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 38% of students attend schools that don’t meet the state’s minimum safety standards. Research has shown that students who attend school in sub-standard facilities tend to have lower attendance rates, lower morale and lower achievement.
Unlike many other states, California does not pay for school repairs through a permanent funding stream. Money comes entirely from state and local bonds. The state’s last school facilities bond, a $15 billion proposal in 2020, failed, leaving the state’s school repair account nearly empty.
Affluent school districts can raise more money for repairs through local bonds because local property values are higher, thereby generating more money through local property taxes. Smaller and lower-income districts struggle to raise enough bond money to pay for school repairs, and often can’t pass local bonds at all. As a result, they rely entirely on state bond money.
Proposition 3: Reaffirm the right of same-sex couples to marry
What would it do?
Proposition 3 would enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into the California constitution, repealing Proposition 8 — a measure approved by voters in 2008 that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. In practice, the ballot measure would not change who can marry.
Why is it on the ballot?
California, the state with the nation’s largest LGBTQ population, was thrust into national spotlight in 2004, when then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, defying a federal ban on gay marriage. The California Supreme Court quickly shut it down, and Californians voted in 2008 to ban same-sex marriage in the state.
That language — while still on the books — is effectively void after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 allowed same-sex marriage to resume in California, and the high court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in a historic 2015 decision. In 2020, Nevada became the first state to enshrine the right to same-sex marriage in its constitution.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Evan Low, both Democrats in the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, introduced the constitutional amendment as a preemptive protection after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections in 2022. Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, said that the court should also reconsider the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, but other conservatives on the bench disagreed.
Prop 4: Borrow $10 billion to respond to climate change
What would it do?
Approving Proposition 4 would authorize $10 billion in debt to spend on environmental and climate projects, with the biggest chunk, $1.9 billion, for drinking water improvements. The bond prioritizes lower-income communities, and those most vulnerable to climate change, and requires annual audits.
Repaying the money could cost $400 million a year over 40 years, a legislative analysis said, meaning taxpayers could spend $16 billion.
Why is it on the ballot?
Environmental groups and renewable energy advocates have been clamoring for increased spending on climate change and the environment in recent years, particularly after Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature approved a $54.3 billion spending package called the “California Climate Commitment” in 2022, only to scale it back to $44.6 billion this budget-plagued year.
About $3.8 billion would be spent on water projects — half to improve water quality, the remainder on protecting the state from floods and droughts, and other activities, including restoring rivers and lakes. The rest of the money would be spent on: wildfire and extreme heat projects, $1.95 billion; natural lands, parks and wildlife projects, $1.9 billion; coastal lands, bays and ocean protection, $1.2 billion; clean energy projects, $850 million; agricultural projects, $300 million.
