California Proposition 11 (2008)

From Ballotpedia

California Proposition 11, also known as the Voters First Act, was on the November 4, 2008 ballot in California as a proposed amendment to the California Constitution through initiative.

Proposition 11 was approved by a slim margin of 50.9% of the vote.^[1] It authorized the creation of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.^[2]

Proposition 11 changes the process that is undertaken once every ten years of setting (which sometimes means re-drawing) the geographic boundaries of the state's 120 legislative districts and four Board of Equalization districts. At present, the task of setting these boundaries falls to the state legislature itself. If Proposition 11 passes, that task would instead be given to a new, 14-member commission.^[3]

Supporters of the Proposition 11 were a clear winner in the money-stakes; they raised $14 million to promote its passage, versus the $1 million raised by opponents.

A Congressional Redistricting Initiative may go on the 2010 ballot; it would add the task of re-drawing congressional districts to the independent commission created under Proposition 11.

A California Financial Accountability in Redistricting Act (2010) may also go on the 2010 ballot. It would substantially repeal Proposition 11.^[4]

Election results

On November 11, there were still 2.1 million uncounted votes from Californians. Since the difference between the "yes" and "no" sides on Prop 11 is less than 150,000 votes, opponents of Prop 11 had not conceded the election. There were fewer total votes for Prop 11 than for any of the other eleven statewide propositions on the November ballot.^[5]

California Proposition 11:
		Votes	Percentage
YES		5,957,057	50.9%
No		5,759,932	49.1%
Total votes		11,716,989	100%

Specific provisions

Proposition 11 enacted the following provisions:

• Changes the authority for establishing the district boundaries of the California State Assembly, California State Senate, and Board of Equalization from elected representatives to a 14-member commission.
• Lays out how the members of that 14-member commission are to be chosen.
• The commission must include five Democrats, five Republicans and four of neither party.
• Government auditors are to select 60 registered voters from an applicant pool. Legislative leaders (Republican and Democrat leaders in the state senate and state assembly) can reduce the pool; the auditors then are to pick eight commission members by lottery, and those commissioners pick six additional members for 14 total.
• For approval, district boundaries need votes from three Democratic commissioners, three Republican commissioners and three commissioners from neither party
• The commission is to hire lawyers and consultants as needed.

Qualifications for commission membership

In order to serve on the commission envisioned by Proposition 11, commission applicants must:

• Be registered voters
• Show consistent voter registration for the previous five years.
• Have voted in two of the last three general elections.
• In last 10 years, applicant or close relative cannot have been a federal or state political candidate, lobbyist or donor of $2,000 or more to a candidate.

Constitutional changes

The successful passage of Proposition 11 amended Section 2 of Article XXI of the California Constitution.

Supporters

California Common Cause was a main sponsor of the initiative. Others supporting it included:

AARP The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce The League of Women Voters Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger[6][7]. Gray Davis, Former Governor (Democrat)

ACLU - Southern California California Black Chamber of Commerce Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce NAACP California State Conference California Police Chiefs Association

See also: Full list of California Proposition 11 supporters.

Newspaper editorial boards in favor

The Los Angeles Times [8] San Francisco Chronicle[9] San Jose Mercury Fresno Bee The Torrance Daily Breeze

San Diego Union Tribune Pasadena Now LA Daily News North County Times Redding Searchlight[10]

Stockton Record San Gabriel Valley Tribune Santa Cruz Sentinel Lompoc Record

Arguments in favor of Prop. 11

Notable arguments that have been made in favor of Prop. 11 include:

• Under current law the legislature draws its own districts which results in a 99 percent of incumbents being re-elected.^[11]

• Under the current system, "Not one of the 120 seats changed party hands in the last two elections."^[12]

• The initiative will open up redistricting so that it will no longer be controlled by only the party in power.^[13]

• When state legislators are in charge of drawing district boundaries, as they are currently, there is a conflict of interest such that legislators place their own self-interest ahead of the common good.

• A citizen's commission created according to Prop. 11 will be able to make independent decisions leading to legislative boundaries based on fairness and the public good and not political aspirations..

• Passing Proposition 11 will end partisan gridlock.^[14],^[15],^[16]

• State legislative contests held in districts drawn by a Proposition 11 commission would be more competitive, leading to voters electing more moderate legislators.^[17]

• It will give the power back to the people.

• Proposition 11 would reform the redistricting process by establishing a commission

(as opposed to a legislatively-driven) procedure. This measure could moderately affect government accountability by making the ballot process somewhat more representative.^[18]

Donors supporting Prop 11

Large donors to the campaign to pass Proposition 11 included:

• Gov. Schwarzenegger's California Dream Team, $2,446,000. ^[19]
• Charles Munger: $1 million
• Michael Bloomberg (the mayor of New York City), $250,000.^[20]
• Howard Lester (of Williams-Sonoma): $250,000.
• New Majority California PAC: $237,500.
• William Bloomfield: $150,000

The law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler gave $250,000 to the "Yes on 11" campaign. Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler was founded by Scott Rothstein. In 2009, Rothstein, who lives in Florida, was accused by federal investigators of "running a massive Ponzi-style fraud in Florida".^[21] Rothstein is said to have been selling shares in a business that supposedly provided lump sum payments to recipients of annuities and other long-term payments, but that the deals he was touting didn't exist. Rather, prosecutors say, he was using money from investors to provide payments to other investors, an arrangement known as a "Ponzi Scheme."^[22]

City of Pasadena endorses

On Monday, March 10, 2008 the Pasadena City Council became the first California city to endorse the Voters First Initiative.^[23]

Path to the ballot

Kimball Petition Management was paid $2,332,988 from two separate campaign committees to collect signatures to put this measure on the ballot.^[24],^[25],^[26][27]Signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2008 ballot were submitted to election officials on May 6, 2008. On June 17, the California Secretary of State announced that a check of the signatures had established that the measure qualifies for the ballot.^[28],^[29]

Opposition

The official committee set up to oppose Proposition 11 was called Citizens for Accountability; No on Proposition 11.^[30] Paul Hefner is the spokesman for the "No on 11" effort.^[31]

Opponents to Prop. 11 included:

• U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer,
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
• the California Democratic Party,
• the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund,
• the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
• the Asian-American Pacific Legal Center.

(For a full list, see List of Proposition 11 opponents).

Arguments against Prop. 11

Arguments claimed in opposition to Prop. 11 included:

• No accountability to taxpayers. Each commission member is guaranteed $300 a day, plus unlimited expenses in the form of staffing, offices, etc.

• The commission created under Prop. 11 would allow politicians to hide behind the selected bureaucrats to maintain a hold on redistricting as they wish.

• The overly complicated process created by Prop. 11 would make it easier to mask hidden agendas of the people behind those on the committee.^[32]

• Prop. 11 offers no assurance of the same representation for communities, such as California's Hispanic community in the redistricting process.^[33]

• The current version of Prop. 11 does not include congressional districts as an earlier draft did, thereby not being complete reform and creating additional detractors to the measure. ^[34]

• Even when commissions do create competitive districts, the people who get elected in them do not necessarily behave as political moderates."^[35]

Democrat against Democrat

Kathay Feng, the main author of the initiative and director of California Common Cause, said in late June that since the measure qualified for the ballot and the California Democratic Party has announced its opposition, there has been attempt to bring everybody into line and to encourage those in support of the measure to oppose it.^[36]

Donations to opposition campaign

As of October 25, the opposition committee, "Citizens for Accountability; No on 11", had raised about $1,000,000. Donors include:

• California Democratic Party, $75,000.
• California Correctional Peace Officers Association, Truth in American Government Fund, $250,000.
• Members' Voice of the State Building Trades, $25,000.^[37]
• "Voter's First" campaign committee, $40,000

Polling information

See also Polls, 2008 ballot measures.

Month of Poll	Polling company	In Favor	Opposed	Undecided
July 2008	Field	42 percent	30 percent	28 percent
August 2008	PPIC	39 percent	36 percent	25 percent
Sept. 2008	PPIC	38 percent	33 percent	29 percent[38]
Oct 12-19, 2008	PPIC	41 percent	34 percent	25 percent[39]
October 18-28	Field	45 percent	30 percent	25 percent[40]
Nov. 1-2	SurveyUSA	39 percent	26 percent	35 percent[41]

External links

Basic information

• California Voter's Guide to Proposition 11
• Ballot Summary
• League of Women Voters, Time line of the initiative
• Language of initiative
• CaliforniaPropositions.org Prop 11 information page
• California Voter Online guide to Proposition 11
• Smart Voter Guide to Proposition 11
• Institute of Governmental Studies Hot Topic: Proposition 11
• Voter Minute video on Prop 11
• Video of Prop 11 debate

Supporters

• Yes on Prop 11, official website supporting Proposition 11
• California Common Cause website
• Financial details of support committee
• Join Arnold

Opponents

• No on Prop 11, official website opposing Proposition 11

References

Additional reading

• Capital Weekly, California forward launches reform effort, March 27, 2008
• California redistricting plan faces hurdles
• Politicians will lie to kill Proposition 11, July 2, 2008
• California re-districting: Courtesy of Lindsey Lohan?
• Prop 11 will take politics out of re-districting
• Ballot will hold treatment for budget stalemate
• Editorial: Prop. 11 looking good
• Anti-11 group calls measure too complicated ahead of pro-11 rally
• 2009 will be year of government reform measures
• California initiative targets re-districting practices

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