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VOL. 6, NO. 39
GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA’S PROPOSITIONS ON THE 2020 BALLOT Secure ballot boxes like these at Monrovia Library will be operational next week. No postage is necessary. - Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
President Continues to Attack Mail-in Ballots
What you need to know about voting in california Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
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With the election date getting closer, it is important that Californians know what they are being asked to vote on. – File photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
Destiny TORRES, GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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his year’s general election is right around the corner. As Nov. 3 grows nearer, voters must understand everything that will appear on their ballots. There will be a total of 12 propositions for Californians to vote on this year. While it may be difficult to research all of them on one’s own, these are all the ballot initiatives voters will be asked to decide on this election. California Proposition 14: Stem Cell Research Initiative Bond With this proposition, voters will be deciding on whether or not to issue $5.5 billion in state bonds to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). CIRM was created in 2004 after voters approved Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell and Research Initiative, to fund
stem cell research along with issuing $3 billion in bonds. Proposition 71 also created a 29-member governing board to oversee the program; Proposition 14 would increase the number of members to 35. Approving this initiative would increase state costs possibly over the next 30 years. California Proposition 15: Tax on Commercial and Industrial Properties for Education and Local Government Funding Initiative The approval of this measure would mean amending the state’s constitution to require that commercial and industrial properties be taxed according to market value rather than on the purchase price. Exempted from these changes are residential properties, agricultural land and owners of commercial and industrial properties whose value is less than $3 million. Those opposed argue that the
measure would repeal taxpayer protections provided by Proposition 13, an initiative approved in 1978 that stabilized state property taxes by capping it at a 2% increase per year. “But, as bad as that would be for the economy overall, split roll takes special aim at agriculture and would sweep across our farms and ranches like a wildfire,” wrote Ted Gaines, a former state senator and member of the California State Board of Equalization wrote for Bakersfield.com. Proposition 15 only applies to commercial and industrial properties, or holdings worth over $3 million. Those who approve argue that larger companies should not be taxed the same way that homeowners or smaller businesses do. "We’re asking for companies like Disneyland or Universal Studios that make huge amounts of money to pay SEE 2020 BALLOT PAGE 2
ith election day about one month away, the country is deeply divided on not only the candidates but also on the huge number of issues facing this enormously difficult and divisive year. California is automatically mailing ballots to those citizens who registered to vote this year, much to the chagrin of President Donald Trump, who for months has been falsely saying that mail-in votes are fraudulent, without any evidence. According to a quote in The New York Times, the president expressed his annoyance after the Justice Department disclosed details about an inquiry into nine discarded mail-in ballots found in Pennsylvania. “These ballots are a horror show,” Trump said. “They found six ballots in an office yesterday, in a garbage can. They were Trump ballots, eight ballots in an office yesterday, in a certain state. And they had Trump written on it, and they were thrown in a garbage can. This is what is going to happen, this is what is going to happen, and we are investigating that. It’s a terrible thing that is going on with these ballots — who is sending them?” In reality, seven of the nine ballots were for Trump. The ballots first came to the nation’s attention last Thursday when the Justice Department issued a press release in apparent coordination with the White House. According to Politico, “Election experts accused the Justice Department of politicizing a still-pending investigation — and pointed to the revelation that seven of the nine discarded ballots had been cast for Trump as especially concerning.” An unidentified “individual was contracted to assist with the 2020 General Election as a temporary season independent contractor and began work on Monday, Sept. 14,2020. This contractor was assigned to sort the mail received by the Elections Bureau,” according to a SEE PRESIDENTIAL BALLOTS PAGE 4