blog post Californians and the November 2020 Election By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Alyssa Dykman, Rachel Lawler Oct 5, 2020 California’s likely voters are anxious about the troubling state of affairs in the nation and state, with COVID-19, the economy, and wildfires among their chief concerns.
blog post Video: Californians and Their Government By Stephanie Barton Oct 28, 2020 PPIC’s Rachel Lawler and Mark Baldassare discuss a new statewide survey that examines Californians’ views on the top issues facing the state, key November ballot measures, and the presidential election.
blog post California’s New Leaders Focus on Poverty By David Lesher Oct 7, 2014 Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and Senator Kevin de León, who will take over as senate president pro tem later this month, each told a Sacramento audience about growing up in poverty and the role it has played in their shared view of the state’s responsibility to those in need.
blog post Election Takeaways: California Voters Send Conflicting Signals By Mark Baldassare Dec 14, 2020 Nearly 18 million Californians voted in the November 2020 election—an all-time high. PPIC’s Mark Baldassare discusses the final election results and what they say about Californians’ mindset and policy preferences in a year of unprecedented challenges.
Report Are There Winners and Losers? Race, Ethnicity, and California’s Initiative Process By Zoltan L. Hajnal, Hugh Louch Oct 1, 2001 California’s reliance on direct democracy has raised concerns about the role of race and ethnicity in the initiative process.Critics point to initiatives on restricting bilingual education, ending affirmative action, and cutting services to illegal immigrants as a sign that the white electoral majority is using direct democracy to target the state’s growing nonwhite population. This study analyzes voting patterns over the last 20 years to determine how often voters from each racial and ethnic group end up on the winning side of the initiative vote. It also measures the degree to which the interests of white and nonwhite voters differed and the level of unity within each group. The study concludes that nonwhite voters, especially Latinos, fared poorly compared to whites only when race or ethnicity itself was an important part of an initiative.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Alyssa Dykman, Rachel Lawler Oct 21, 2020 Key findings from the current survey include: In the presidential race, Biden maintains a wide lead over Trump, and Californians are more enthusiastic about voting than usual. Views fall along party lines for confirming Judge Barrett to the Supreme Court, while majorities across parties oppose overturning Roe v. Wade. On ballot measures, likely voters are divided on Proposition 15, the “split roll” property tax, and support is low for Proposition 16, which would reinstate affirmative action. At least half of Californians would get a COVID-19 vaccine, but two in three are concerned about a vaccine being rushed.