List of California ballot propositions


The following is a list of California ballot propositions broken down by decade. Propositions can be placed on the ballot either through the initiative process or by a vote of the state legislature. Propositions were added to the California constitution as part of the ethics reform instituted by Governor Hiram Johnson in the early 1910s.
Ballot measures were not numbered prior to the general election of 1914. Until the November 1982 general election, proposition numbers started with "1" for each election. After November 1982, subsequent propositions received sequentially increasing numbers until November 1998 when the count was reset to "1". Starting with November 1998, the count is reset in 10-year cycles.
Until 1960, citizen-led initiative measures appeared on general election ballots only. From 1960 to 2012, initiative measures appeared on primary, general, and special election ballots. In October 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill which requires all future ballot initiatives to be listed only in general elections, rather than during any statewide election. Two propositions had already qualified for the next statewide election prior to the signing of the law, making the June 2012 primaries the last statewide non-general election in California to have statewide initiatives on the ballot. Propositions originating in the State Legislature can still appear on non-general election ballots, as was the case with Propositions 41 and 42 in June 2014.

Notable propositions

Some notable propositions which have received a great deal of attention include:
Proposition StatusAbout
Proposition 4 PassedGranting women the constitutional right to vote in California.
Proposition 7 PassedEstablishing the constitutional direct democracy powers of initiative and referendum in California.
Proposition 8 PassedEstablishing the constitutional direct democracy power of recall in California.
Proposition 14 Passed, then declared unconstitutionalProhibiting government agencies from denying, limiting, or abridging the right of any property owner to decline to sell, lease, or rent residential real property to any person the property owner, in their absolute discretion, chooses.
Proposition 6 DefeatedBarring homosexuality in the public school system.
Proposition 13 PassedSignificant property tax reduction and limits; imposing 2/3 vote requirement of the Legislature for state taxes and 2/3 voter approval requirement for local special taxes.
Proposition 65 PassedNotification of hazardous materials.
Proposition 98 PassedSchool funding.
Proposition 187 Passed, then declared unconstitutionalDenying illegal immigrants eligibility to receive public services.
Proposition 209 PassedBanning affirmative action in the public sector
Proposition 215 PassedLegalizing medical marijuana under California law.
Proposition 218 PassedRight to vote on local taxes; assessment and property-related fee reforms; initiative power expansion in regard to local revenue reduction or repeal. Constitutional follow-up to Proposition 13.
Proposition 22 Passed, then declared unconstitutionalA statute banning same-sex marriage.
Proposition 52 DefeatedAllowing voting registration on Election Day.
Proposition 71 PassedOn the use of stem cells in scientific research.
Proposition 73 DefeatedParental notification before abortion.
Proposition 83 PassedVarious restrictions of civil liberties for paroled sex offenders.
Proposition 85 DefeatedSecond attempt at Proposition 73.
Proposition 8 Passed, then declared unconstitutionalA state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in order to override the In re Marriage Cases decision earlier that year that legalized same-sex marriage.
Proposition 14 PassedEstablishing non-partisan blanket primaries in place of closed primaries.
Proposition 19 DefeatedLegalization of marijuana.
Proposition 34 DefeatedAbolition of the death penalty.
Proposition 36 PassedReducing the mandatory minimum sentence's for most individuals convicted under the state's three-strikes law.
Proposition 37 DefeatedRequiring labeling on raw or processed food offered for sale to consumers if made from plants or animals with genetic material changed in a specified way.
Proposition 47 PassedRedefining some nonviolent offenses as misdemeanors, rather than felonies, as they had previously been categorized.
Proposition 64 PassedLegalization under California law of the adult use of marijuana.