California's Proposition 40 is a referendum on the recent statewide redistricting lines put in place by the voter-approved independent Citizens' Redistricting Commission. Prop. 40 seeks to [confuse voters in an effort to] overturn 2008's Proposition 11, which created the Redistricting Commission as a means of taking such duties out of the hands of politicians and granting more influence to ordinary citizens.
Prior to the passage of Proposition 11, the legislature drew the boundary maps for the state's Assembly and Senate districts, creating nearly impenetrable lines of demarcation and virtually ensuring a lock on incumbency. The fruits of Prop 11 can be seen in the very election coming this November, where we are seeing more competitive races than we have seen in years. A No vote on Prop. 40 would return redistricting power to politicians and the special interests who support them. A Yes vote keeps redistricting in the hands of the Citizens' Redistricting Commission.
Vote YES on Prop 40.
Note: This referendum is a classic example of all that is wrong with California's Ballot Initiative system, as can be gleaned from this single sentence in the Ballotpedia entry:
Note: This referendum is a classic example of all that is wrong with California's Ballot Initiative system, as can be gleaned from this single sentence in the Ballotpedia entry:
"The sponsors who put this on the ballot are thus its opponents..."
