Eight statewide ballot propositions were on a
special November 8, 2005 election ballot in
California. Three of the propositions proposed new amendments to the
California Constitution, while five of the measures proposed new
state statutes. California's voters rejected all eight of the statewide ballot propositions.
$417 million was spent on the eight statewide ballot measure campaigns.[1]
The November 8 special ballot proposition election in California was hotly contested, not just on the individual measures but on whether the election should have been held at all. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received increasing pressure to cancel the election throughout the summer and fall of 2005. On August 1st, the California Legislative Counsel's office issued a statement claiming that the Governor of California would be legally allowed to cancel the November 8 election up to the time on November 8 that the polls opened, simply by issuing a proclamation that the special election would be called off.[2]
One concern expressed about the election was its cost and who would pay for the cost of administering it. The State of California did not reimburse California's 58 counties for the costs of administering the 2003 special election. Gov. Schwarzenegger said that the state government would pick up the tab, but counties remained distrustful. The California Secretary of State's Office contacted all 58 counties in California with a promissory note that all costs incurred to cover the cost of the special statewide election would be included in the state budget for the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
On the ballot
Cost of signatures
- See also: California ballot initiative petition signature costs
| Ballot measure
|
Subject
|
Signature collection company
|
Cost
|
Signatures required
|
CPRS
|
| Proposition 73
|
Abortion
|
Bader & Associates, Inc.
|
$2,527,611
|
598,105
|
$4.23
|
| Proposition 74
|
Labor
|
NPM, Arno and Forde
|
$1,514,707
|
373,816
|
$4.05
|
| Proposition 75
|
Labor
|
NPM, Arno and Forde
|
$1,514,707
|
373,816
|
$4.05
|
| Proposition 76
|
Spending
|
NPM, Arno and Forde
|
$2,423,529
|
598,105
|
$4.05
|
| Proposition 77
|
Redistricting
|
NPM, Arno and Forde
|
$2,423,529
|
598,105
|
$4.05
|
| Proposition 78
|
Health care
|
Progressive and Bader
|
$2,415,397
|
373,816
|
$6.46
|
| Proposition 79
|
Health care
|
Kimball Petition Management
|
$4,635,466
|
373,816
|
$12.40
|
| Proposition 80
|
Energy
|
Kimball Petition Management
|
$4,839,466
|
373,816
|
$12.95
|
| |
|
TOTAL: |
$22,294,412 |
|
|
Note: The petition drives for Proposition 74, Proposition 75, Proposition 76 and Proposition 77 were conducted jointly. Three different petition drive management companies were involved. The expense reports were pooled. It is not therefore possible to determine the exact costs of each individual petition drive. The costs in this chart were derived by assuming that each signature in each of the four petition drives had the same cost. The overall cost of the four petition drives was $7,876,472.40.
Historical perspective
Considering citizen-initiated propositions only:
See also
External links
References
