Ballot initiatives for this year's election

The primary election on March 5 offers students of age to vote for national and statewide ballot measures at their nearest polling center or by mailed ballot. 

Ballot measures are laws, issues or questions of both state-wide and local significance for voters to decide on. There are two ways a measure can be placed on the ballot. State legislatures can propose initiatives and 26 states including California allow residents to place measures by gathering enough signatures. Government teacher Adrienne Karyadi shares the purpose of ballot measures within elections, 

“Ballot measures started as a way for the citizens to pass laws without waiting for the legislature to do it or for the executive to propose the law,” Karyadi said. 

Currently, 11 measures on the California ballot affect issues ranging from income taxes to vote thresholds. As of January 23, 55 statewide ballot measures have been certified for elections in 2024 nationwide. 

Karyadi gives an example of the significance of ballot measures for citizens and how it allows them to reflect their wants despite big corporations wanting otherwise about measures on previous ballots. 

“There was a law passed [in the previous election] to limit the flavors that could be sold in vaping products in California,” Karyadi said. “The vaping industry put a ballot initiative on the ballot to try to overcome that, and by giving the state's citizens a chance to vote on that, it made it pretty clear that the voters do not want there to be a market for those products.” 

A ballot measure in this year's election includes a lower Supermajority Requirement to 55% for Local Special Taxes to Fund Housing and Public Infrastructure Amendment, influencing the vote threshold for local special taxes and funding for housing projects and public infrastructure. 

Another measure in the California election is Proposition 1, which aims to build mental health facilities and provide housing to homeless people. If passed, another 6.4 billion dollars will be spent on expanding mental health and treatment facilities within the state. 4.4 billion of those dollars will be allocated toward 10,000 treatment beds. 

Students such as Willow Driver (’24) tend to find Proposition 1 and issues similar to be important because they can help those struggling in society.

“I think Proposition 1 is really important in this year's election because it helps homeless people and creates funding for more mental health facilities so Samo students who are eligible to vote should look into that and everything else that is on the ballot this year,” Driver said. 

 Another ballot that has become eligible for the California 2024 election is the 18-dollar minimum wage initiative. This measure will raise the state's minimum wage to $18 per hour instead of $16 per hour. This measure impacts working Samo students and other minimum-wage workers in the state. 

There are also ballot measures that were not deemed eligible in the 2022 election for not receiving enough signatures or votes once placed on the ballot but have gained eligibility for this upcoming election, such as the “Living Wage Act of 2024” that would implement a new minimum wage of 18 dollars per hour by 2026. 

Students of age have until February 20 to register to vote in this year's election for presidential candidates and other ballot measures. Additionally, students who are 16 and 17 have the option to pre-register to vote so they are prepared when an adult. Driver shares further information on the importance of ballot measures to her, 

“I think ballot measures are really important to me and many students at Samo since they can directly affect our lives,” Driver said. “I know that one of the measures this year is going to raise the minimum wage which I think is important for students to know about since many of us have jobs.”