This upcoming election is a historic one. We are now less than 24 hours away from election day.
Most of the news is focused on the Presidential election. There is no doubt that the Presidential election will have a greater impact on the country, but the local election will have a direct impact on your community. Pay attention to the local issues.
As you drive around your area, notice posters and signs designed to bring attention to the issues on the ballot. Your local press and social media will also highlight the issues.
In California, we can learn about the issues by going to Cal Matters California Voter Guide 2024.On this site, you can find information about your local issues. Cal Matters has collected 718 measures and 975 races, with nearly 2,500 candidates, to give voters a preview of contests and issues that directly impact their local communities. You can enter your address and be linked to the state ballot measures and candidates for state, county supervisor, city council, and local ballot measures.
Some major Statewide issues are:
Prop. 32 – Minimum wages: Should the wages be raised to $18 per hour? According to the Living Wage Survey, the average California resident needs to earn $27 per hour to meet basic needs. A YES on Proposition 32 would increase wages for over 2 million California workers.
Prop 33 – Rent Control: Allow local governments to impose rent controls in their area. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 30% of California renters spend more than half their income on rent. Currently, rent control cannot be imposed on single-family homes or apartments built after 1995. A YES would allow cities to tailor policies that work for their residents. They would have the tools to help families remain in their homes and slow evictions and displacement.
Prop 34 – Require use of prescription revenue for patients: Would require some California providers to spend at least 98% of that net drug sale revenue on “direct patient care.” The measure would also put into law a Newsom administration policy that requires all state agencies to negotiate for lower drug prices as a single entity.
Prop 35 – Make permanent a tax on managed health care plans: Would require the state to spend the money from a tax on health care plans on Medi-Cal, the public insurance program for low-income Californians and people with disabilities. The revenue would go to primary and specialty care, emergency services, family planning, mental health, and prescription drugs. It would also prevent legislators from using the tax revenue to replace existing state Medi-Cal spending. Over the next four years, it is projected to generate upwards of $35 billion.
Prop 36 – Increase penalties for theft and drug trafficking: Would reclassify some misdemeanor theft and drug crimes as felonies. This is aimed at decreasing retail crime which has increased by 28% by imposing harsher penalties.
The measure would also create a new category of crime — a “treatment-mandated felony.”People who don’t contest the charges could complete drug treatment instead of going to prison, but if they don’t finish treatment, they still face up to three years in prison.
Also you should consider the following state measures which were approved by the State legislature:
Prop 2 – Borrow $10 billion to build schools, colleges: Makes it easier for local government to borrow funds for K-12 and community colleges for construction and modernization.
Prop 3 – Reaffirm the right of same-sex couples to marry: Would enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into the California constitution.
Prop 4 – Borrow $10 billion to respond to climate change: Would allow the State to borrow $3.8 billion for drinking water and groundwater programs, $1.5 billion for wildfire and forest programs, and $1.2 billion for sea level rise.
Prop 5 – Lower voter approval requirements for local housing and infrastructure: Would make it easier for local governments to borrow money for affordable housing and some other public infrastructure projects by lowering the voter approval requirement from two-thirds to 55%.
Prop 6 – Limit forced labor in state prisons: Would end indentured servitude in state prisons, considered one of the last remnants of slavery. It would prohibit the state from punishing inmates with involuntary work assignments and from disciplining those who refuse to work. Instead, state prisons could set up a volunteer work assignment program to take time off sentences in the form of credits.
Remember – Use the power of your voice VOTE ON NOVEMBER 5th.