Smart Voter Your Ballot & Poll Place On Propositions Ballot Measure Analysis Pros & Cons Prop 73 Prop 77 Prop 74 Prop 78 Prop 75 Prop 79 Prop 76 Prop 80 PDF In Depth Prop 73 Prop 77 Prop 74 Prop 78 Prop 75 Prop 79 Prop 76 Prop 80 About Ballot Measures Why Special Election? Background How to Evaluate The Initiative Process Other Absentee Voting Register to Vote

Ballot measures bring the voter directly into the law-making and financing process. California law is contained in the State Constitution and various state codes.

Amendments to the constitution, general obligation bond acts, and proposals made through the initiative or referendum process are always brought to the people for a vote. Proposed constitutional amendments and bond measures put on the ballot by the Legislature must receive a two-thirds vote in each house. At the polls, however, only a simple majority of votes is needed to adopt any statewide ballot measure.

All measures on the November 8, 2005 special election ballot are initiatives. There are no bond measures or proposals placed on the ballot by action of the legislature.

There are eight statewide measures on the November 8, 2005 ballot. As a general rule of thumb:

• A YES vote means you want to change something, or that you favor what is being proposed.
• A NO vote means you want to keep things the way they are, or at least don't favor this particular change.