How do the ballot measures fare? + Do doctors have a right to spread misinformation?
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
BERKELEY IGS POLL FINDS STRONG SUPPORT FOR ABORTION BALLOT MEASURE
Two California ballot measures appear favored to pass, two look doomed to fail, and one is anybody’s guess.
That’s the finding of the latest Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, released Friday.
The survey, funded in part by the Los Angeles Times, found that Proposition 1, which would enshrine the right to contraception and abortion in the California Constitution, looks to be sailing to passage Tuesday, with 64% of likely voters favoring the measure and 27% opposed.
Likewise, Proposition 31, which would ban the sale of most flavored tobacco products, is looking good for passage, with 58% support to 32% opposition.
The outlook continues to look less promising for Proposition 26 and Proposition 27, which would legalize sports betting at tribal casinos and on mobile devices, respectively. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent on these initiatives, both look poised go down. Prop. 26 shows 53% opposed and 30% in favor, while Prop. 27 is even less popular, with 64% opposed and 22% in favor.
“Significantly, the size of the ‘No’ vote on each initiative has increased by 11 points since the poll’s late September survey,” according to the survey.
As for Proposition 30 — the measure to tax the rich to pay for expanded electric vehicle infrastructure and more firefighters — which Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Republican Party oppose and the California Democratic Party supports, is up in the air right now, with 47% saying that they would vote yes and 41% no.
The poll was administered online in English and Spanish between October 24 to October 31 among 7,602 registered California voters. It has a sampling error of +/- 2%
THE RIGHT TO SPREAD MISINFORMATION?
Is COVID-19 misinformation protected by First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech?
That’s the argument of five physicians who have sued the state in an attempt to block AB 2098 from becoming law.
The bill, set to go into effect Jan. 1, designates the dissemination of misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19 as “unprofessional conduct.”
“AB 2098 is crucial to addressing the amplification of misinformation and disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Licensed physicians, doctors, and surgeons possess a high degree of public trust and therefore must be held accountable for the information they spread,” said bill author Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, in a statement.
The lawsuit was brought on the physicians’ behalf by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan nonprofit civil rights group founded by legal scholar Philip Hamburger. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
The NCLA argues that the term “contemporary scientific consensus” is undefined by the law, and that no doctor can know at any given time what the consensus is on matters related to prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Even if the consensus was defined and known, plaintiffs argue, doctors can use their own judgment based on their knowledge, experience, research and patients’ individual circumstances.
“Beyond being an unconstitutional infringement on physicians’ First Amendment rights, the law will interfere with the sacred doctor-patient relationship. As physicians, it is our duty to be honest and transparent with our patients,” said lead plaintiff Dr. Tracy Høeg in a statement.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Is anyone else just scrolling through Twitter waiting for it to blow up?”
- California GOP consultant Mike Madrid, via Twitter.
Best of The Bee:
California interest groups are using the last days of the November election to seize on voters’ concerns about healthcare costs with misleading ads claiming that a Sacramento state Senate candidate wants to take away Medicare, via Lindsey Holden.
University of California academic workers have set a Nov. 14 strike date, delivering written notice to UC officials early Friday morning, via Maya Miller.
Four years ago, a majority of Californians voted in favor of a ballot measure empowering the Legislature to end to the biannual ritual of clock-changing for Daylight Saving Time. This Sunday, Californians still set their clocks back an hour, via Andrew Sheeler.
Frustrated by California’s mounting homeless crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he was withholding $1 billion in state funding for cities and counties until local leaders can prove they have aggressive plans for getting people off of the streets and into homes, via Maggie Angst and Theresa Clift.