As it hits its 100th birthday, California's initiative process is losing its luster.
But followers of Hiram Johnson's landmark move toward direct democracy can take heart: the Legislature has even bigger problems.
A new Field Poll shows a bare majority of Golden State voters believe the ballot measure process is a "good thing," continuing a steady slide in popularity since 1979, when more than four out of five voters gave thumbs up in the aftermath of Proposition 13's approval.
Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said the voting public has become more cynical with what it perceives as undue influence over ballot measures from moneyed interests – three-fifths of voters said most proposition elections come out the way "organized special interest groups want," compared with 27 percent who believe the results reflect what "most people" want.
Still, 71 percent believe voters consider "the broad public interest" when deciding policy issues on the ballot, while just 19 percent believe that of elected representatives debating affairs of the state in the Capitol.
Fifty-six percent believe elected representatives are more easily manipulated by special interests than the voting public. The public, DiCamillo said, is "even more cynical about the workings of the Legislature."
As for changes to the process, voters would increase disclosure requirements for initiative backers, but are cool toward giving the Legislature the ability to amend the provisions of a voter-approved ballot measure.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
Call Bee Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Smith, (916) 321-5249.
• Read more articles by Dan Smith
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.