California

Ballot Initiatives for Marijuana Legalization Track Public Opinion

Election Law Society · February 1, 2016 ·

By Hannah Whiteker

Fans of direct democracy should be excited about the increased use of state ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana use. Direct democracy allows citizens to enact and change laws, instead of electing representatives to make important decisions for them. One of the ways that the United States utilizes direct democracy is through state ballot initiatives. If a group of voters wants to get an initiative on the ballot to pass a law in their state (there is no initiative process for federal elections), the group must first get enough voters to sign a petition supporting the initiative. The number of signatures required varies by state. If the group satisfies the signature requirement, the initiative is put on the ballot for the next statewide election to be voted on by the people.

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Deciphering Felony Disenfranchisement in Post-Realignment California

Election Law Society · January 11, 2016 ·

In August of 2015, California restored the voting rights to approximately 60,000 former felony offenders who had been improperly disenfranchised as a result of a glitch in the political process. In the whirlwind of California’s recent prison reform acts, these citizens had been inappropriately classified as ineligible to vote in violation of California’s Constitution and election laws. Although the case had already been decided in the voters’ favor by a trial court, it was not until California’s current Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, decided this summer to drop the appeal that these former felony offenders could feel safe registering to vote. But how did such a large number of potential voters end improperly disenfranchised in the first place?

California Considers Compulsory Voting: Getting out the Vote in the Golden State

Election Law Society · February 14, 2015 ·

By Aaron Colby:

There was little mystery or controversy to California’s elections this year. In the 2014 elections, the historically ‘blue’ state elected a Democrat governor and lieutenant governor by over 15 percentage points each, and chose a democrat for the office of Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, and Attorney General all by greater than 5 percentage points. Democrats hold a supermajority in the State Assembly and are close to having a supermajority in the State Senate. While California has republican representation in its congressional districts, 72% of the State’s congresspersons are Democrat. [Read more…] about California Considers Compulsory Voting: Getting out the Vote in the Golden State

California’s Continuing Complicated Relationship with Direct Democracy

Election Law Society · February 10, 2015 ·

By: Aaron Colby

This year, like other states, California worked to complete another midterm election season. Also like other states, this means that candidates participated in major fundraising and spending efforts, to increase their chances of a favorable election result. However, unlike many other states, a great deal of these campaign contributions are going not to a particular candidate, but rather to a specific cause: support of or opposition to a particular ballot initiative. California law requires supporters and opponents of ballot initiatives to form a committee, to which donations are made, and to disclose the amount of the donations they receive. [Read more…] about California’s Continuing Complicated Relationship with Direct Democracy

Only One Minor Problem: How Young Is too Young for Poll Workers, and How do We Adapt to a Younger Generation?

Election Law Society · January 7, 2015 ·

By: Geoff Tucker

It is no secret that the typical poll worker tends to be a senior citizen; indeed, the average age of those volunteering to work the polls is seventy-five. As new technologies are implemented for use in elections, however, there has been a growing push for younger volunteers who are presumably more tech-savvy. In efforts to recruit this younger demographic, California amended its election law statutes to allow high school students to serve as poll workers if certain conditions are met, including a minimum GPA and age requirement. [Read more…] about Only One Minor Problem: How Young Is too Young for Poll Workers, and How do We Adapt to a Younger Generation?