The SFist Guide To Election 2005: The State Propositions
The 70s! A decade of stagflation and Republican corruption? Or a number span covering some mighty temperate climates? Or a solid C on the grading scale? But for you, faithful voter, the 70s are the numbers we're up to for this round of the state propositions! As always, SFist is here for you, providing vastly oversimplified explanations of the propositions so you can go to the ballot box more poorly informed than you were when you started!
Okay, here's your executive summary.
Progressives: Nix The First Six (out of 8).
Schwarzenegger supporters: Have a 70's party (uh, except for 79 and 80).
And those of you who hate special elections: Vote no on everything. That'll teach 'em!
For those of you who want to actually know what the propositions are about (what are you, some kind of Commie freak?), proceed to after the jump. Don't forget to vote on Nov. 8! And today's your last day to register if you haven't already -- it's too late to register online, but run to your local post office or library and get a paper form. Run! Run!
What? You're still here?
Proposition 73: How convenient that 1973 was the year that Roe v. Wade came down -- this is the abortion proposition. Namely, should teenage girls be required to get parental consent if they're having an abortion? Argument for: Why don't teen girls talk to their parents more? Argument against: What if your dad's the father of the baby, huh? The governor's statement was, "I wouldn't want to have someone take my daughter to a hospital for an abortion or something and not tell me. I would kill him if they do that." You know, that kind of illustrates the arguments on both sides of this debate, doesn't it? Click for more nuanced arguments for and against.
Proposition 74: Do you want to make it easier to get rid of public school teachers? Argument for: Didn't you just hate your third grade teacher? Argument against: You want to throw your sweet world geography teacher out on the street? You can already fire a public teacher but this law would make it easier. For and against.
Proposition 75: Do you want to make it harder for unions to collect money for political campaigns? Argument for: Boy, those unions have been running a lot of ads against the special election this year, haven't they? Argument against: Boy, those unions have been running a lot of ads against the special election this year. Were they helpful or not? For and against.
Proposition 76: It's long and tedious, but basically, do you want to give the governor the unilateral power to slash school funding? Argument for: Would the Governator ever lead us astray? Argument against: Um, balance of powers much? For and against.
Proposition 77: Do you want retired judges to redraw voting districts now? Argument for: Why not? We gotta do it anyways. Argument against: We had to spend billions of dollars on a special election to do something we're going to do in 2 years anyways? Where's the fire, chief? For and against.
Proposition 78: Drug companies want to know if you'll let them decide whether to give you discounts on prescription drugs or not. Argument for: It's voluntary for the drug companies to participate or not, and they don't have to follow MediCal requirements. Argument against: Drug companies could back out of the program at any time -- vote for 79 instead. For and against.
Proposition 79: Let's have a prescription drug program where drug companies are required to participate! Argument for: 79 is more enforceable than 78, and covers more people. Argument against: It's too expensive for the poor widdle drug companies. For and against. Note that voting yes on both 78 and 79 will cancel both votes out -- since they can't both win, the one that gets more votes will prevail.
And proposition 80: Should we reregulate power in California? Argument for: Enron, hello! Argument against: What was so bad about Enron? For and against.
We left out a lot of the finer details of the propositions because -- well, because we know you've got a short attention span. Tell us what we left out, and give us your arguments for and against in the comments! And put it in your datebook: vote on Nov. 8!