The Back Bench: There’s an avalanche of ballot propositions

California voters will have another, the third one this year, election in November. The headline item on the ballot will be the U.S. presidential race however; there will be at leased 11 ballot measures for the voters to decide on.

Not only will the November ballot contain many items to be voted on but it comes at a time when the California voter is not happy. A recent California Field Poll indicated that only 23 percent of voters think that California is on the right track. That is the lowest rating in five years.

Additionally, the Field Survey results indicated that Gov. Schwarzenegger's approval rating has dropped dramatically since the first of the year. The voter's viewpoint of the state Legislature is also very low.

This data on voter's attitudes would suggest that the voters would like to vote the legislative incumbents out of office. Most of know that that this is almost impossible because of the gerrymandered legislative districts that protects incumbents.

Schwarz-enegger, the California Common Cause organization and AARP have collaborated on a ballot initiative which is headed for the November ballot. If voters approve, the current methods used to draw legislative districts will be revised. The California Democratic party opposes any attempt to revise the current method.

The proposed redistricting ballot measure would strip the authority to draw district boundaries from the Legislature and transfer the authority to a 14-member citizens panel. The new group would have five Democrats, five Republicans and four independents. Legislative districts would be reviewed every 10 years after the national population census has been taken.

Other measures on the upcoming November ballot include a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages in California. No doubt that this ballot measure will draw the most campaign money and comment than any other ballot measure. However, another ballot measure that will rival the gay marriage proposal for public comment will be the one that requires parental notification before a minor can obtain an abortion.

Also on the upcoming ballot, there is a bond measure to raise $980 million for various children's hospitals in the state and a bond measure to start construction of a high-speed rail system in the state.

George Soros, the liberal billionaire is sponsoring a measure to relax penalties for nonviolent drug offenders.

Also the ballot will include a measure that state Sen. George Runner and his wife, state Assemblywoman Sharon Runner are sponsoring an initiative to increase gang penalties and law enforcement funds.

There will also be a ballot measure requiring certain farm animals to have sufficient space available in order to allow them to extend their limbs and wings.

And there will be a ballot measure requiring utilities to increase renewable energy sources to 50 percent of production by 2025.

So as you can see, California voters will have plenty to read and discuss prior to the November election. The minimal voter turnout during the June election was an embarrassment to the voting process. The November election with the selection of the next U.S. president and important ballot measures require thoughtful and serious consideration by the voter. Enjoy the summer months but after Labor Day, allow time to become prepared to vote in November. It is an important process.

Lee Lockhart is a former member of the board of trustees for College of the Sequoias and a former member of the Kings County Board of Supervisors.

(July 5, 2008)