List of California ballot propositions
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of California ballot proposition
s broken down by decade. Propositions can be placed on the ballot either through the initiative
process or by a vote of the state legislature. Propositions were added to the California constitution as part of the ethics reform instituted by Governor Hiram Johnson
in the early 1910s.
Prior to the November 1982 general election, proposition numbers started with "1" for each election. After November 1982, subsequent propositions received higher and higher numbers until November 1998 when the count was reset. Starting with November 1998, the count is reset in 10-year cycles.
California ballot proposition
In California, a ballot proposition is a proposed law that is submitted to the electorate for approval in a direct vote . It may take the form of a constitutional amendment or an ordinary statute. A ballot proposition may be proposed by the State Legislature or by a petition signed by members of...
s broken down by decade. Propositions can be placed on the ballot either through the initiative
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
process or by a vote of the state legislature. Propositions were added to the California constitution as part of the ethics reform instituted by Governor Hiram Johnson
Hiram Johnson
Hiram Warren Johnson was a leading American progressive and later isolationist politician from California; he served as the 23rd Governor from 1911 to 1917, and as a United States Senator from 1917 to 1945.-Early life:...
in the early 1910s.
Prior to the November 1982 general election, proposition numbers started with "1" for each election. After November 1982, subsequent propositions received higher and higher numbers until November 1998 when the count was reset. Starting with November 1998, the count is reset in 10-year cycles.
- List of California ballot propositions 1910–1919
- List of California ballot propositions 1920–1929
- List of California ballot propositions 1930–1939
- List of California ballot propositions 1940–1949
- List of California ballot propositions 1950–1959
- List of California ballot propositions 1960–1969
- List of California ballot propositions 1970–1979
- List of California ballot propositions 1980–1989
- List of California ballot propositions 1990–1999
- List of California ballot propositions 2000–2009
- List of California ballot propositions 2010–2019
Notable propositions
Some notable propositions which have received a great deal of attention include- Proposition 6 (1978) on barring homosexuality in the public school system
- Proposition 13 (1978)California Proposition 13 (1978)Proposition 13 was an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. It was approved by California voters on June 6, 1978. It was declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn,...
on property taxProperty taxA property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
; imposing 2/3 requirement for budget vote, tax increases - Proposition 65 (1986)California Proposition 65 (1986)Proposition 65 is a California law passed by direct voter initiative in 1986 by a 63%-37% margin...
on notification of hazardous materials - Proposition 98 (1988)California Proposition 98 (1988)California Proposition 98 requires a minimum percentage of the state budget to be spent on K-14 education. Prop 98 guarantees an annual increase in education in the California budget. Prop 98, also called the "Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act," amended the California...
on school funding (requires minimum percentage of budget to be directed toward education with increases based on inflation) - Proposition 187 (1994)California Proposition 187 (1994)California Proposition 187 was a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal aliens from using health care, public education, and other social services in the U.S. State of California...
on denying illegal immigrantsIllegal immigrationIllegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
eligibility to receive public services (immediate stay was imposed; still in effect) - Proposition 209 (1996)California Proposition 209 (1996)Proposition 209 is a California ballot proposition which, upon approval in November 1996, amended the state constitution to prohibit public institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity. It had been supported and funded by the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign, led by University...
on banning affirmative actionAffirmative actionAffirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
in public sectorPublic sectorThe public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
(employment, education, etc.) - Proposition 215 (1996)California Proposition 215 (1996)Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, is a California law concerning the use of medical cannabis. It was enacted, on November 5, 1996, by means of the initiative process, and passed with 5,382,915 votes in favor and 4,301,960 against.The proposition was a state-wide voter...
on legalizing medical marijuanaMedical cannabisMedical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine... - Proposition 22 (2000)California Proposition 22 (2000)Proposition 22 was a law enacted by California voters in March 2000 to restrict marriages to only those between opposite-sex couples. In May 2008 it was struck down by the California Supreme Court as contrary to the state constitution....
on a statute banning same-sex marriageSame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality.... - Proposition 8 (2008)California Proposition 8 (2008)Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in order to override the In re MarriageIn re Marriage CasesIn re Marriage Cases 43 Cal.4th 757 [76 Cal.Rptr.3d 683, 183 P.3d 384], was a California Supreme Court case with the dual holding that "statutes that treat persons differently because of their sexual orientation should be subjected to strict scrutiny" and the existing "California legislative and...
decision earlier that year that legalized same-sex marriage - Proposition 14 (2010)California Proposition 14 (2010)Proposition 14 is a California ballot proposition that appeared on the ballot during the June, 2010 state elections. It is a constitutional amendment that changed California's election processes by consolidating all primary elections for a particular office into an election with one ballot that...
established non-partisan blanket primaries in place of closed primaries - Proposition 19 (2010)California Proposition 19 (2010)California Proposition 19 was a ballot initiative on the November 2, 2010 statewide ballot...
on the legalization of marijuana
External links
- California Ballot Propositions Database from University of California Hastings College of the Law Library, a comprehensive, searchable source of information on California ballot propositions from 1911 to the present
- California Ballot Initiatives Database from University of California Hastings College of the Law Library, a comprehensive, searchable source of information on California ballot initiatives from 1911 to the present