Some of California's November ballot initiatives tug at personal convictions
Of the 11 issues on the docket, voters will have to decide on measures involving same-sex marriage, abortion and animal treatment.
SACRAMENTO -- — Emotions may run high for California voters in November, not just over the choice of the next president but also over many of the 11 initiatives on the same ballot that tap into their personal beliefs.
Voters will decide whether to ban same-sex marriage, require parents to be notified before an abortion is performed on a minor, free farm animals from tight enclosures and put criminals in jail longer.
Other measures involve less charged issues, such as stripping legislators of the power to draw their districts and promoting clean energy.
"You have political reform, cultural issues; there will be something to interest everybody," said Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican strategist who publishes Target Book, a nonpartisan handicapper of political races in California. "If you are not interested in redistricting, then maybe you are interested in gay marriage."
The deadline has passed for initiatives to qualify for the ballot by petition, but the Legislature could still choose to add propositions to the list.
Although voters may face some hard work wading through piles of election guides and campaign mailers, they can take some comfort in that they were not voting in November 1913, when there were 48 ballot measures, a record that stands today.
A heated debate is brewing over the measure that would amend the California Constitution to say that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the state. The issue will be decided less than five months after same-sex couples throughout California began exchanging wedding vows in the wake of a court decision upholding their right to do so.
Eight years ago, about 61% of California voters approved a ballot measure that said the state would recognize only marriages between a man and a woman. That measure, which did not change the Constitution, was invalidated by the recent court ruling.
"It's important to . . . overturn the court decision and to reaffirm the voters' will as expressed by the approval of Proposition 22," said Jeff Flint, a spokesman for the measure's supporters.
Opponents of the latest initiative, including state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), said the courts have established that marriage is a right of same-sex couples and that public opinion has changed.
Predicting that the measure will fail, Kuehl said: "I have a very positive feeling about how the people of California will treat this initiative."
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