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vote no on everything proposition propositions california constitution democracy republic vote ballot 8 supreme court

“[Direct] democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.”

--Benjamin Franklin

PROPOSITIONS

24 states and the District of Columbia allow initiatives/propositions. Each state has a somewhat different method of implementing their proposition/initiative/referendum system and California’s is among the most unsound. 

Our nation was purposefully designed as a Republic, not a Democracy, to avoid the problems inherent in democratic societies and the tyranny of the majority.

                                                             

REGARDLESS OF CHERRY-PICKED OUTCOMES, THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN

Although good decisions have at times been made by the majority, the general populace should not have the power to legislate directly by a simple-majority vote. Legislation is the role of the legislature, to be kept in balance by the other two branches of government.

Many voters cast their vote on propositions based on watching 30-second TV ads. If you found out that your congressmen were basing their votes on TV ads you would rightfully be angry – and yet that’s exactly how law is made in the proposition process.

While the proposition system does sometimes produce results a person may like, that is irrelevant. The individual issues aren't the point. The system itself is inherently flawed and thus should be changed.

For instance, if Presidential elections were decided by placing candidates names in a hat, then selecting a winner at random to become the US President -- sometimes you would be happy with the result but you would nonetheless (hopefully) not support such a system.

WHY IS VOTING FOR A PROPOSITION DIFFERENT THAN VOTING FOR A PERSON?

Letting the populace vote on propositions is quite different from voting a single person into office (which is the basis of a Republic).  Even if they win by one vote, that person must then face the normal obstacles to changing legislation. Elected officials have to work within the framework of the Constitution to pass legislation. The proposition system changes public policy by a simple majority vote.

*Note: The term “default’ refers to a baseline starting point, and does not mean “universal” or “across-the-board”

REPUBLIC vs DEMOCRACY

A Republic is representative government ruled by law (the Constitution). A democracy is direct government ruled by the (simple) majority. A Republic recognizes the inalienable rights of individuals while democracies are primarily concerned with group wants or needs. In a complete Democracy, there is no need for a Constitution, since the majority can always change law at whim.

Unlike the slow, deliberate law-making process in our Constitutional Democratic Republic, the Proposition process occurs comparatively rapidly, requiring approval from the whim of a simple majority. The basic information provided to voters, and the (usually-misleading) advertising campaigns are not sufficient for voters to make intelligent decisions.

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AN UNSTABLE CONSTITUTION

Due to the carefully-designed safeguards put in place to prevent frivolous changes, the US Constitution has been amended only 27 times. Only one of the amendments was to restrict citizen’s rights. The one exception was Prohibition, which was later repealed. The California State Constitution has been changed more than 500 times. What good is a Constitution, meant to protect the rights of its citizens, if it can be so easily changed?

The California State Flag leaves little doubt about the State’s intended form of governance

THE PROPOSITION SYSTEM FAILS

The proposition system doesn't do what any intelligent citizen would want: to have laws be made only after careful introspection by people with time to do so.

Is a "Criminal Rehab Program" a good law? Perhaps or perhaps not. The answer lies in details. The basic info provided to voters is not sufficient to know what to think of it all and the amount of money discussed (several billion dollars) is too large to be meaningful to the average person.

Is funding alternative fuel a good idea? In general, probably yes. But does that mean that CA Proposition 10 was a good idea? Who knows!? Read it and see if you can say that this is a optimal use of ten billion dollars a year... The numbers are too large to be meaningful and the details are too vague. A justified expenditure? Hard to say.

Is funding Children's Health a good thing? Overtly yes, but how it is implemented determines if the law is worthy of being passed. Look at the information provided to voters and see if you can determine if this is the best way to protect Children's health.

California’s budget is enormous: If California were a separate country, it would rank among the ten largest economies in the world, with a GDP similar to that of Italy, and it would be 35th among the most populous countries.  This makes statewide budgetary decisions immensely complex, and such decisions would ideally require thoughtful deliberation: the very opposite of how the proposition process is implemented in California.

©2009 Vote No On Everything

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