blog post Electoral Reforms Face New Test By Eric McGhee May 15, 2014 California’s political reforms—redistricting and the top-two primary—were meant to shake up the status quo, and in 2012, they didn’t disappoint. Things are calmer in this year’s legislative and congressional races.
blog post Video: Mobilizing the Inland Empire for the Census—and for the Future By Mary Severance Jun 19, 2019 At an event co-hosted by PPIC and the University of California, Riverside’s Center for Social Innovation, an expert panel discusses the Inland Empire’s community outreach approach for the 2020 Census and how the region aims to build this capacity for the long term.
blog post California’s Quietest Reform By Eric McGhee Feb 10, 2014 California has adopted a lot of high-profile political reforms recently, including a new way of drawing district lines and a radically open primary system. But there’s another reform that is transforming the state legislature without attracting nearly as much national attention.
Report California’s Political Reforms: A Brief History By Eric McGhee Apr 30, 2015 How does political reform happen in California? This report explores the dynamics that led to recent redistricting and primary system overhauls. It finds that the keys to success or failure are the coalitions policymakers build—and the tools they can use to fight or promote reform. This research was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.
At Issue, Report Legislative Reform By Eric McGhee Dec 3, 2007 PPIC's At Issue series focuses on issues important for California now and in the future. In this issue, PPIC research fellow Eric McGhee discusses three charges often brought against the California Legislature—loss of competence, increasing partisan gridlock, and declining efficiency—and three types of reform aimed at addressing those shortcomings: relaxing term limits, transferring redistricting from the legislature to an independent commission, and reducing the supermajority requirement for the budget. He also offers some recommendations for policy design and briefly discusses alternative reforms.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Special Survey on Californians and the Initiative Process By Mark Baldassare Aug 25, 2005 Some findings of the current survey A majority of likely voters across age, income, education, racial and ethnic groups, and in every region of the state, oppose holding a special election this fall. When asked which ballot issue was most important to them, a higher percentage of likely voters (16%) volunteered the answer “none” than named any one measure. At this time, likely voters are not very enthusiastic about the three reform measures on the fall ballot that are supported by the Schwarzenegger administration: Proposition 74 (teacher tenure), 49% support, 42% oppose; Proposition 76 (spending and funding limits), 28% support, 61% oppose; Proposition 77 (redistricting), 34% support, 49% oppose. Governor Schwarzenegger’s approval ratings are at a low point: Only 34% of state residents approve of the way he is handling his job. The state legislature fares even worse, with a 27% approval rating. This is the 58th PPIC Statewide Survey and the first in a series of three surveys focusing on Californians and the initiative process. This special survey series is funded by The James Irvine Foundation.
