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Argument in Favor of Proposition 77
THE TIME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY IS NOW!
PROPOSITION 77: “THE VOTER EMPOWERMENT
ACT” WILL FINALLY MAKE POLITICIANS ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PEOPLE.
- Guarantee fair election districts for Californians.
- Give voters the final say in the process.
- Reduce special interest influence and money in politics.
YES on Prop. 77: Let the Voters Decide.
The Problem: California’s flawed election system allows partisan politicians to draw the boundary lines of their own districts—splitting up towns and even neighborhoods for personal gain. The result: there is no accountability because the incumbents rig the districts to ensure they have NO serious competition, guaranteed re-election, and are NOT accountable to voters.
It used to be that voters picked their politicians—now politicians pick their voters. And that’s NOT FAIR.
“California lawmakers are so adept at designing their own districts that of the 153 seats—80 Assembly, 20 state Senate, 53 Congressional—theoretically up for grabs last November (2004), not a single one switched parties."
Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2005
When politicians are not accountable to voters, they become accountable only to their special interest campaign contributors.
That’s why we still have record deficits, unbalanced budgets, out of control spending, and calls for higher taxes, year after year.
Wouldn’t it be better if legislators would work to improve education, cut wasteful government spending, eliminate bureaucracy, and balance the budget once and for all? But that won’t happen until our elected officials start paying attention to us. Under the current system, they only pay attention to their campaign contributors. It’s time for a change.
Prop. 77—The Bipartisan Voter Empowerment Solution
1. Voters will be able to vote on the new redistricting plan. That gives the people of California more power and the special interests less.
2. To ensure district lines that are competitive and fair, a panel of retired judges—selected through a bipartisan process with no political agenda—will draw new district lines according to strict guidelines.
3. Voters then may approve or reject the lines. That puts us, Californians, in charge of our elections.
4. Neighborhoods and communities will matter again.
Incumbents will no longer be able to draw their own
districts, splitting up towns and neighborhoods in an
effort to guarantee their own re-election.
Prop. 77 IS A COMMON SENSE, BIPARTISAN SOLUTION THAT WILL:
- Guarantee fair, competitive elections for California voters.
- Give voters the final say in the process.
- Hold the politicians accountable.
- Reduce the influence of political money.
Now is the time. After many years of opposing reform, overspending, and gridlock, legislative leaders of both parties finally admitted, this year, that redistricting reform is necessary—that allowing politicians to draw their own districts is a conflict of interest that must be changed.
The opportunity is now. PLEASE JOIN US IN VOTING YES ON PROP. 77 TO:
- HOLD THE POLITICIANS ACCOUNTABLE!
- CLEAN UP SACRAMENTO.
- REDUCE PARTISAN POLITICS.
- RETURN ELECTORAL CONTROL TO THE PEOPLE.
EDWARD J. “TED” COSTA, CEO
People’s Advocate
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor
State of California
JOHN A. ARGUELLES
Former California Supreme Court Justice
Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Proposition 77
The people behind Prop. 77 want you to believe it will
make things better.
Don’t be fooled!
Special interests spent millions of dollars to force a
special election and put this loophole-ridden redistricting scheme on the ballot.
In fact, two courts and three judges have already ruled that this measure shouldn’t even be on the ballot. They ruled that proponents broke the law in a rush to have a new redistricting and reapportionment 5 years earlier than normal.
This flawed plan won’t make politicians more accountable . . . they pick the judges!
Read the fine print.
1) PROP. 77 TAKES AWAY THE RIGHT OF VOTERS to reject redistricting plans before they go into effect.
2) The so-called independent redistricting judges are
HAND-PICKED BY POLITICIANS.
3) Every time voters reject these redistricting plans, IT
WILL COST TAXPAYERS MILLIONS.
4) Everything is decided by a small panel of ONLY THREE UNELECTED JUDGES.
5) This flawed idea is CEMENTED INTO OUR
CONSTITUTION.
Politicians have tried to sneak redistricting schemes past
voters four times in the last 25 years. VOTERS SAID NO . . . all four times.
Instead of putting up a straight-forward plan that
makes sense, they offer us this unfair and undemocratic
redistricting measure.
Vote NO on Prop. 77. It can only make things worse.
www.NoOnProposition77.com
DANIEL H. LOWENSTEIN, Former Chair
Fair Political Practices Commission
DEBORAH BURGER, President
California Nurses Association
HENRY L. “HANK” LACAYO, State President
Congress of California Seniors
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Argument Against Proposition 77
Proposition 77 Makes Things Worse
Every time they don’t get their way, politicians cook up new schemes to change the rules. They’ve tried sneaking redistricting schemes past voters four times over the last 25 years, and each time, VOTERS SAID NO!
This time, their plan will cost taxpayers millions, and
three judges and two courts have ruled it was illegally
qualified for the ballot.
Don’t be fooled! Read the fine print. This undemocratic
and unfair redistricting scheme has huge loopholes.
BIG FLAWS:
1) VOTERS LOSE THEIR RIGHT to reject redistricting
plans before they go into effect.
2) POLITICIANS SELECT THE JUDGES to draw their districts for them.
3) Prop. 77 COSTS TAXPAYERS MILLIONS each time they reject redistricting plans.
4) Only 3 UNELECTED JUDGES WILL DECIDE EVERYTHING. That’s not fair or balanced.
5) This unworkable scheme will be CEMENTED INTO OUR CONSTITUTION!
PLANS TAKE EFFECT WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL
Redistricting plans made from Prop. 77 automatically go into effect WITH NO APPROVAL FROM VOTERS.
That’s backwards. Voters should approve plans BEFORE they take effect, not afterward. By the time voters have a say, the damage is done. Why won’t they let voters approve the plans first?
POLITICIANS STILL IN CONTROL
Under Prop. 77, politicians in the Legislature choose the judges to draw their political districts. Politicians get the best of both worlds—they still pick their voters and now they can hide behind judges. There’s no accountability!
REQUIRES MULTIPLE COSTLY ELECTIONS
If voters reject redistricting plans, the entire process starts over—new judges, new plans, more elections, and more political bickering—wasting millions of tax dollars. This could go on indefinitely . . . with election after election . . . until voters finally approve . . . all at TAXPAYER EXPENSE!
GIVES TOO MUCH POWER TO JUST 3 UNACCOUNTABLE JUDGES
This redistricting scheme gives too much power to three retired judges to decide the future of 35 million Californians. These unelected judges have nothing to fear by upsetting the will of the voters.
NOT THE WAY TO CHANGE OUR CONSTITUTION
Prop. 77 changes our Constitution. But the Constitution is not a place to experiment with California’s future. They’re playing political games with a sacred document.
MOST AREAS OF THE STATE UNREPRESENTED
Under Prop. 77, all three judges could be from the same area. That’s not fair. For example, three Northern California judges could break up Southern California communities, or vice versa. Central Valley voters could have no redistricting panel representation at all!
What effect would this have on regional issues like WATER RIGHTS and TRANSPORTATION FUNDING?
WHY NOW? WHAT’S THEIR MOTIVE?
Redistricting isn’t scheduled to occur until 2011, after the Census gives an update on California’s population. Instead, special interests spent millions of dollars to rush this strange plan onto the special election ballot. What’s their motive?
We do need to reform our government, but Prop. 77 isn’t the answer.
VOTE NO ON PROP. 77. IT WON’T MAKE ANYTHING BETTER.
www.NoOnProposition77.com
DANIEL H. LOWENSTEIN, Former Chair
Fair Political Practices Commission
JUDGE GEORGE H. ZENOVICH, Associate Justice Retired 5th District Court of Appeal
HENRY L. “HANK” LACAYO, State President
Congress of California Seniors
Rebuttal to Argument Against Proposition 77
Opponents of Prop. 77, the “Voter Empowerment Act,” are desperate to protect entrenched politicians and the status quo. They have historically fought to prevent voters’ voices from being heard, even trying to keep Prop. 77 off the ballot this year!
PROP. 77 WILL RETURN POWER TO THE VOTERS, AWAY FROM POLITICIANS AND SPECIAL INTERESTS WHO CURRENTLY CONTROL OUR UNFAIR ELECTION SYSTEM—IT GIVES VOTERS THE FINAL SAY.
When politicians are virtually guaranteed to win elections, they are not accountable to voters. Prop. 77 fixes this problem and improves California’s election system—ensuring all voters are fairly represented.
Beware of the smokescreen arguments by opponents of Prop. 77. Remember these important facts:
- Opponents don’t want competitive elections. They like the status quo and will do anything to protect their power.
- They want the politicians to continue protecting their special interests at the expense of California’s working families.
- Voter approval of redistricting plans will be held at regularly scheduled elections, so opponents’ claims of huge election costs are false.
Prop. 77 is simple and straightforward:
- A bipartisan panel of retired judges would establish new, fair district boundaries for the Legislature and Congress.
- They want the politicians to continue protecting their special interests at the expense of California’s working families.
- Fair districts mean competitive elections.
Competitive elections ensure our elected officials listen
to citizen voices and not just campaign contributors.
Nothing could be fairer than letting voters have the final word!
“YES” ON PROP. 77—IT’S ABOUT RETURNING POWER TO THE PEOPLE
JOHN KEHOE, Policy Director
California Senior Advocates League
JULIE VANDERMOST, President
California Women’s Leadership Association
NATIVO LOPEZ, President
Mexican American Political Association
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Arguments and Rebuttals 
