Here we go again...for the 4th time in the past 5 years, and the umpteenth time since forever.
With significant focus on the abortion language and limits in the current health care debate, the oh so persistent fundies in California are once again trying to put abortion on the California ballot.
We can stop them...tell a friend, tell millions of friends.
How?
Plain & simple...don't sign the initiative petitions!
Many of you know just HOW screwed up California's initiative process is. Our process was originally designed with the idea of giving a stronger voice people. But that was in an era of less gerrymandered districts and a helluva lot less residents in our state. It's an old antiquated process that has completely strangled the state's budget and has helped lead California into near bankruptcy...thank you Prop 13, as one huge impact. That's not to say there haven't been some "good" results over the years due to this power of the people, but beyond budget impact, we have seen the harm this process can do as it inflicts prescribed morality of the few on the whole of its people. Look no further than Prop. 8. Some may argue that wasn't "the few"...but don't get me started on THAT! ;)
Although I know there are a lot of Californians on DKos, for those who aren't and those who are less familiar, here's a little blurb I wrote for our employee association's blog. I wrote it to help educate some of my colleagues about how the process works, as we are looking at some significant ballot initiatives that would impact us as public employees:
First, a little bit about how an initiative makes it to the ballot. There's a great Initiative Guide on the How To Qualify An Initiative page at the Secretary of State's website that details the steps required to qualify an initiative for the ballot. That guide also describes the role of the Office of the Attorney General in preparing the official title and summary of the ballot measure. This is the language that goes on the petition that is circulated for signatures.
The Attorney General's office has a website called Initiative Measures. From there, you can view the Active file to find out what proposals are awaiting review for title and summary and which ones have received the official versions (look for CAPS). Once that is issued, signatures can be gathered, then submitted for verification in accordance with appropriate timelines. Once the sufficient number of signatures have been verified and the initiative qualified, there are a couple more basic legislative actions before it gets to the ballot.
This process does NOT require a statistically significant number of signatures when you consider the population of the State of California. Currently, you only need 433,971 for an initiative and 694,354 for a constitutional amendment. These are only 5% and 8%, respectively, of the total number of voters in the last gubernatorial election...another reason to encourage high voter turnout to elections for Governor! Considering that there have been over 500 California Constitutional Amendments alone approved by the initiative process, it's obviously been relatively easy to get them on to the ballot! Considering how few signatures are needed in comparison to a state with a population over 30 million, you can see where it's really not that difficult if you've got a substantial funding source.
Why does all this matter?
Not a lot can be done by the average person to prevent a proposal from becoming official. If it meets the criteria, deadlines and it passes the fiscal analysis, it will get its official title and summary. However, once that's out for circulation, much education and action can be done to encourage people to NOT sign the petition. If not enough qualified signatures are collected in the time limit, it won't make it to the ballot. That's the best way to avoid having to fight a bad initiative. Believe it or not, sometimes there are just bad initiative proposals so obviously bad that they don't go anywhere based on their own awfulness.
The problem is, paid signature gatherers aren't always honest or ethical in how they collect the signatures...and well, they're paid. They're typically paid by the number of signatures gathered, not necessarily if they're qualified signatures...unless obviously fraudulent...therefore, quantity is king. They typically have several different petitions all at the same time, so if you stop to sign one for something you support, you're often pressured to sign others as well. Most people don't actually read what they're signing and rely on the gatherer to give them their spiel, so the sad truth is that the majority of people probably don't have a clue about what they just signed...and frankly, neither do many of the signature gatherers!
If you went to the Active page, you may very well be amazed at how MANY are out there...goes to show how it comes to be that we get so many freakin' initiative measures on the ballot!!
Now, the anti-abortion, anti-whole life crowd, under the signature of requester "John Smith", have received the authorization to collect signatures for not just one, not two, but three different versions of a constitutional amendment to restrict abortion for any unemancipated minor under 18.
Where as the applicants again tried a less innocuous, deceptive and oh-so-feel-good title of PARENTAL NOTIFICATION, CHILD AND TEEN SAFETY, AND STOP PREDATORS ACT, the Attorney General's office correctly titled the measures as:
REQUIRES WAITING PERIOD AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BEFORE TERMINATING PREGNANCY OF FEMALE UNDER 18. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
and
REQUIRES PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BEFORE TERMINATING PREGNANCY OF FEMALE UNDER 18. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
The language is not significantly different than previous attempts, except it does not define when life begins...the bigger loser in 2006. The primary difference in the three different petitions revolve around a 48-hour waiting period and Medi-Cal exclusion.
- Measure 09-0060 has a 48 hour waiting period after parental notification but does not deny Medi-Cal.
- Measure 09-0061 does not have a waiting period, but denies Medi-Cal coverage.
- Measure 09-0062 has no 48 hour wait period and no Medi-Cal denial.
I would make the assumption that those were submitted in the order of preference by the petitioners. Therefore, they really want the 48 hour waiting period, and if they can't get that, at least deny the poor the ability to get it paid for at all...because, don'tcha know, it's them poor folks who are the ones want'n all them abortions!
We've been successful in battling this fight so far, but not without a lot of hard work and advocacy. Californians have seen the harm and rejected these various attempts to mandate one view of morality in our constitution, but it's always been close. Here are the results from the last three attempts:
Year | Proposition | Votes for | Votes against | % |
---|
2008 | Prop 4 | 6,071,863 | 6,570,777 | 48-52 |
2006 | Prop 85 | 3,868,714 | 4,576,128 | 46-54 |
2005 | Prop 73 | 3,610,475 | 4,023,840 | 47-53 |
But the whole point of my message is to not wait until it gets to the ballot. Fight it now with info and education of the electorate that it's back...and prevent them from getting the signatures needed to qualify. With the qualifying limits so low, that is hard to do, no doubt about it. But every effort to shine the light on this will help.
People's attentions are diverted to the national health care debate...rightly so. However, the saying is "As California goes, so goes the nation." That's not always the case, but it's true enough. So, I'm trying to do my little part of getting the attention to this early on. I would love to see it fail to get enough signatures so that we don't HAVE to fight it in the election.
I've phone banked every time these last three tries, and can I tell you...I HATE phonebanking for ANYthing! I do it reluctantly for a variety of things, and I'm good at it...but I still hate it. Maybe this is purely a selfish attempt to have to keep from doing it again. ;)