Public Policy Institute—Some excerpts from a post election survey
Independents Gave Boost
In the candidate contests at the top of the ballot, the support of independents was key for winners Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer. In the governor’s race, Democrat Brown beat Republican Meg Whitman by 13 points (54% to 41%) with the support of 86 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of independents. Latinos (75%) and women (59%) voted for Brown. Whitman got the votes of 85 percent of Republicans. Men (50% Brown, 46% Whitman) and whites (47% Brown, 49% Whitman) were more di-vided. Voters age 18–34 (65%) supported Brown, as did half of older voters (52%, ages 35 and over).
Boxer was re-elected to her U.S. Senate seat by 10 points (52% to 42%) with the support of most Democrats (86%) and independents (53%). Most women (58%) and Latinos (62%) voted for Boxer. Republican challenger Carly Fiorina had the support of most Republicans (88%). Whites (48% Boxer, 49% Fiorina) and men (49% Boxer, 47% Fiorina) were divided. Younger voters (62%) favored Boxer.
At a time when more voters are casting ballots by mail, those who voted this way were more divided (50% Brown, 46% Whitman) than those who went to the polls (57% Brown, 40% Whit-man). In the Senate race, those who voted by mail (52% Boxer, 44% Fiorina) and those who voted in person (54% Boxer, 44% Fiorina) fa-vored Boxer.
Many Say Initiatives Were Confusing
Two-thirds of voters say the wording of the initiatives on the ballot was too complicated or confusing (32% strongly agree, 35% somewhat agree). And for the first time in a PPIC post-election survey, less than half say they have confidence in their fellow voters to make public policy decisions at the ballot box (35% a fair amount of confidence, 9% a great deal). But most also say they were very happy (18%) or somewhat happy (42%) that they had to vote on nine ballot propositions. This is similar to November 2008, when there were 12 proposi-tions on the ballot, and November 2006, when there were 13. And two-thirds of voters are satisfied with the way the initiative process is working (13% very satisfied, 53% somewhat satisfied), although many believe the system needs major changes (42%) or minor ones (34%).
More Key Findings
? Californians’ concerns a stark con-trast to last gubernatorial election—page 15 As a measure of how much conditions have changed since November 2006, concerns about jobs and the economy have skyrocketed 50 points (64% today, 14% 2006) when state vot-ers are asked to name the most important issue facing people in California.
? Low marks for state’s leaders, little trust in government—pages 16, 17 Just 13 percent of general election voters approve of the way the legislature and governor work together to make public policy, and only 12 percent approve of the job done by the legisla-ture—where all incumbents on the ballot were re-elected. An overwhelming majority (84%) say they can trust state government to do what is right only some of the time (68%) or none of the time (16%).
? Obama approval rating at 53 percent—page 22 A slim majority of voters ap-proves of the way President Barack Obama is handling his job. Far fewer (21%) approve of the way Congress is doing its job.
? Switch to a GOP-controlled U.S. House: 41 percent say it’s a good thing—page 23 State voters are somewhat more likely to say they wanted the midterm election to result in a Congress controlled by Democrats (45%) than by Republicans (39%). But they are also more likely to see the switch in control of the House of Representatives from Democrats to Republicans as a good thing (41%) than a bad thing (34%), and 21 percent say it won’t make a difference.
www.ppic.org
reprinted from CFRW Newsletter
Redistricting Commission
In 2008, California voters passed the Voters First Act and changed the way political boundaries are drawn in the state begin-ning with the 2010 census. The Act established the Citizens Redistricting Commission and also set criteria to be used for mapping new boundaries.
In 2010 voters passed the Voters First for Congress Act, adding congressional districts to the commissions responsibilities. In prior decades, the state Legislature was responsible for drawing the political boundaries for congressional districts, the state Assembly, Senate and Board of Equalization.
The first Citizens Redistricting Commission will be seated in January 2011. The commission shall:
--maintain an open and transparent process fully accessible to the public. The commission must hold public hearings around the state and accept public comment.
--draw district lines that conform with strict, nonpartisan rules designed to create districts of relatively equal population that will provide fair representation for all Californians.
--conduct themselves with integrity and fairness.
After hearing from the public and drawing the maps, the Commission must vote on the new maps to be used for the next decade. To approve the new maps, the maps must receive nine "yes" votes from the Commission—three "yes" votes from members registered with each of the two largest parties, and three from the other members. The commission must submit all district maps to the Secretary of State by August 15, 2011. www.WeDrawTheLines.com.