Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Healthy Communities By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Nicole Willcoxon Feb 9, 2011 Some findings of the current survey: Californians have generally positive views of their health, with 80 percent calling it good to excellent. Most say that health care services in their communities should emphasize prevention more than treatment. Nearly all say universal health care for children is important in preventing illness. Job Approval Ratings: Governor Brown [PDF]California State Legislature [PDF] Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings: Governor Brown [XLS]California State Legislature [XLS] Mood of Californians:General Direction of Things in California [PDF]Economic Outlook for California [PDF] Time Trends for the Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [XLS]Economic Outlook for California [XLS] This survey was supported with funding from The California Endowment.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: The Political Views of Young Californians By Eric McGhee, Jennifer Paluch, Dean Bonner, Stephanie Barton Mar 27, 2024 Younger Californians take a more liberal stance on policy issues and tend to lean more Democratic than older Californians. While young Republicans are more conservative than young Democrats or independents, they are also less conservative than older counterparts across a range of topics—making younger adults less polarized in their views.
Report Political Reform and Moderation in California’s Legislature: Did Electoral Reforms Make State Representatives More Moderate? By Eric McGhee May 8, 2018 California implemented several important election reforms at the start of this decade. Each was intended in part to promote more flexible, moderate decision-making among California’s elected officials in an era of increasingly acrimonious partisan conflict. This report looks at the moderating effect of three reforms: the shift of authority to draw legislative and congressional districts from the state legislature to an independent redistricting commission; the loosening of term limits for state legislators; and a highly open “top two” primary system.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Equity in Voter Turnout after Pandemic Election Policy Changes By Eric McGhee, Jennifer Paluch, Mindy Romero, Stephanie Barton Mar 1, 2022 While California has made progress toward voting equity, reforms meant to address running an election during the pandemic may have disrupted voting habits for some communities.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, Alyssa Dykman Nov 18, 2019 Key findings from the current survey: Biden, Warren, and Sanders are the frontrunners in California’s Democratic presidential primary. Most Californians favor impeaching President Trump and removing him from office; views on how the impeachment inquiry is being handled are mixed. Many are concerned about wildfires and power shutoffs during fall fire season; local utilities and the governor get mixed reviews for their handling of the issue. Nearly two-thirds think California is divided between “haves” and “have nots”; 41 percent see themselves as “haves” and 44 percent say they are “have nots.”
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, Deja Thomas Mar 30, 2021 Key findings from the current survey include: As approval of Governor Newsom holds steady, four in ten likely voters would vote to remove the governor in a recall election. Overwhelming majorities support the $7.6 billion COVID-19 relief package signed by Governor Newsom as well as the $1.9 trillion federal relief package. Most Democrats, independents, and Republicans support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Ninety percent of Californians say housing affordability is a problem in their part of the state, and some residents are seriously considering moving.
Fact Sheet Californians and the 2020 Census By Sarah Bohn, Joseph Hayes, Tess Thorman Mar 22, 2019 Large segments of California’s population are at risk of being undercounted in the 2020 Census—which could affect the state’s congressional seats and billions of dollars in federal funding.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Special Survey of Los Angeles County By Mark Baldassare Mar 27, 2003 This survey is a special edition of the PPIC Statewide Survey, which periodically includes regional and special-theme surveys. This particular survey provides an objective, in-depth profile of the public opinions, policy preferences, and economic, social, and political trends in Los Angeles County – the most populous county in the nation. Some findings of the current survey 71% of county residents say that when it comes to solving problems, the county government's performance is fair (49%) or poor (22%). Residents believe that most decisions about important issues should be made by local voters at the ballot box (78%), not elected officials (18%). 76% of county residents describe themselves as very (42%) or somewhat (34%) concerned that they or someone in their family will become a crime victim. Most Latinos (67%) and Central/Southeast area residents (54%) say they are very worried about crime victimization. Only 24% of residents rate the LA County economy today as excellent or good, while 48% say it is fair and 27% rate it as poor. Far more residents today (67%) than just one year ago (52%) predict bad economic times for the state over the next 12 months.
Report The Local Initiative in California By Tracy Gordon Sep 14, 2004 In The Local Initiative in California, PPIC research fellow Tracy Gordon provides the most comprehensive evaluation of the local initiative to date. Drawing on previously unexplored data, her report examines trends and patterns in local initiatives and investigates their causes and policy consequences. Gordon finds that local initiatives are more numerous, more likely to qualify, and more likely to become law than statewide initiatives. The major criticisms of the statewide initiative—for example, that it benefits special interests, depresses turnout, or tramples minority rights—do not seem to apply to the local initiative. Instead, local voters appear to use this process to tackle issues that are not adequately resolved by their elected representatives or by state policy.
