Referenda are rare in California.  According to the Secretary
of State's summary, about 50 referenda have sought qualification,
39 qualified, and 25 were approved
(http:/www.ss.ca.gov/elections/init_guide.htm).

Another useful document is the SoS history of the initiative
process at http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/init_history.pdf.
Between 1912 and 2001 1142 initiatives were titled and summarized
for circulation (1123 direct and 19 indirect); 284 qualified (1
indirect initiative was adopted by the legislature).  

97 initiatives were approved, 186 were not approved by voters.

3 were removed by the courts (the subject of an earlier thread).

67 were withdrawn from circulation.

*********************************************************************
R. Michael Alvarez				(O) 626-395-4422
Professor of Political Science			(F) 626-405-9841 
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA 91125                              
rma@hss.caltech.edu
*********************************************************************



On Wed, 13 Nov 2002, Larry Levine wrote:

MessageThe terms - initiative and referendum - often are confused by folks outside of California, or by reporters. Has there ever been a statewide referendum in California? 
Larry
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Lowenstein, Daniel 
  To: 'election-law@majordomo.lls.edu' 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 4:12 PM
  Subject: Dum-das and Dum-dums


      My recollection (which could easily be wrong) is that the 1988 insurance initiative was still being circulated when the court ruled.  In that case, it was not, strictly speaking pulled off the ballot.

      In any event, that initiative and the 2000 redistricting initiative were found to violate the single-subject rule, and the California Constitution seems specifically to contemplate pre-election review under that rule.  The 1983 redistricting initi

ative had a lot of particular circumstances justifying pre-election review, including the fact that the governor had called a costly special election, the need for which was obviated by the court's action.  I do not recall the circumstances of the 1984 ba
lanced budget initiative.  In any event, pre-election review on substantive constitutional issues is a pretty unusual exception, and I can see no reason why it would occur in the case of the proposed initiative on primaries.

      As for the plural of "referendum," Craig is entitled to his preference, but unless he thinks he knows better than the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, his preference happens to be contrary to the norms of the English language (and, in thi

s case, its Latin roots).  Anyway, referendums--as opposed to initiatives--are pretty rare in California.

              Best, 

              Daniel Lowenstein 
              UCLA Law School 
              405 Hilgard 
              Los Angeles, California 90095-1476 
              310-825-5148 

   

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Holman@aol.com [mailto:Holman@aol.com] 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 3:13 PM
  To:    
   Subject: Pre-election review of initiatives


  Adding a little historical perspective to Woocher's assessment that pre-election review of initiatives is uncommon in California:

  Though it is difficult to monitor pre-election challenegs to initiatives over time, I have found only seven statewide initiatives and referenda (Dan, I prefer the term referenda over referendums) that have been subject to pre-election judicial review 

(Fred Woocher believes there may be more). Of these, four initiatives have been removed from the ballot: a 1983 reapportionment initiative (Sebastiani); and 1984 federal balanced budget amendment initiative (which was left on the ballot as Proposition 35 
but the winning results ignored); a 1988 no-fault insurance initiative (a 12,000 word tome, that the insurance industry immediately re-wrote to satisfy the court's objections and requalified for the ballot as Proposition 104 in a record 48 days with a $2 
million direct mail petition circulation drive); and a 2000 reapportionment/legislative salary cut initiative (which Fred reminded me about).

  Craig Holman, Ph.D.
  Public Citizen
  215 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
  Washington, D.C. 20003
  TEL: 202-454-5182
  FAX: 202-546-2658
  Holman@aol.com