Mounting initiatives continually cram general election
Residents this fall will be asked to make hundreds of choices on everything from condo ownership to rewriting city government.
Additionally, voters will be asked to elect a governor, a lieutenant governor, state assembly and senate representatives, congressional representation, and three new Santa Monica City Council members.
And that’s before the state adds its initiatives.
In 1990, Santa Monica voters were asked to make more than 100 decisions, with many voters being sent to multiple booths to complete the entire ballot. If 2002 continues at its current pace, residents could be faced with another record year.
Already three complex local issues are crowding the Santa Monica ballot. One measure would allow tenants to purchase their condo when the buildings change ownership, another would allow for the direct election of the mayor and district-based council members, and yet another referendum would decide the fate of the city’s controversial living wage ordinance.
Officials say voters are not easily overwhelmed, and those that make it to the polls typically are well educated and know exactly how they are going to vote.
“This year is going to be a very crowded ballot,” said Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies located in West LA, which studies voter initiatives. “Especially since you never know how many initiatives you’ll have from the state.”
However, Stern believes voters are able to sort through all the information and make informed decisions.
“We’re always surprised at the intelligence of the voter,” he said. “It’s actually very gratifying to see.”
Local officials say they will continue to add initiatives to the November ballot because of the high voter turnout in gubernatorial elections. The deadline for initiatives to be placed on November’s ballot is June.
“I think it helps democracy to have a lot of good issues on the ballot. It tends to make people pay more attention and read into what’s on the ballot,” said Santa Monica Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown. “It also draws in a lot of news coverage which is always beneficial.”
Stern said it’s likely council members would want initiatives on the ballot in November because it would give them time to rally their supporters, a sentiment some residents echoed when the city council added the Voters Election Reform for a True Accountability System, or VERITAS, to November’s general election.
“Don’t wait long to put this before voters. If you do it will look like you are trying to bring out the union people,” said resident Chuck Allord about some council members’ union support. “Please do not allow the unions to come in here and march all over us. Put this before the voters before that can happen.”
Overall, Stern said voters make educated decisions and understand completely the issues they are deciding.
“One of the things we do is go back and ask voters if they mistakenly voted for an initiative that they didn’t want or if they are unhappy with the results of an initiative,” he said. “And surprisingly, we generally find voters do not pass things unless they really want them to be passed.”
That sentiment was expressed by authors of the local initiatives, as well as city officials.
“We plan to get out there really soon and start staging our advertising campaign,” said Paul DeSantis, author of the VERITAS referendum. “We anticipate using the entire amount of time from now until November educating people.”
Santa Monica Mayor Michael Feinstein agrees, saying that there would be plenty of time to debate each initiative before voters even reach the polls.
“This is hardly the least bit too complicated for a politically sophisticated community like Santa Monica,” he said, pointing out that there would be several televised debates and forums for each side to reach voters. “In 1990, there were at least three measures that if you were against them you had to vote ‘yes’ and if you were for them you had to vote ‘yes.’ But our residents saw through all the tricks and voted their minds.”
“This is hardly the least bit too complicated for a politically sophisticated community like Santa Monica.” — — MICHAEL FEINSTEIN Santa Monica mayor
Experts agree that Santa Monica, unlike many other cities in the Los Angeles region, are becoming quick experts at referendum and ballot initiatives.
“Most communities are not like Santa Monica,” said Stern. “There’s a very active local government and community groups there.”
Feinstein defends loaded ballots, saying they are a legitimate part of an active electorate.
“It’s a healthy function of our local democracy,” Feinstein said. “In addition to participating on boards and councils, residents have a right to put initiatives on the ballot.”
Both DeSantis and Feinstein said this year’s elections would need a strong and healthy media presence to stir debate and bring the issues before voters.
“The press has the responsibility to start the process of debating the merits of these initiatives and talking about the issues they propose solving,” said DeSantis. “If our media falls short of that, then they have truly failed our city.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 14, 2002. Read the original PDF.