California Election Results LIVE: Prop 37 a Top Issue in California on Tuesday
California, the notorious home of die-hard liberals, will most likely give all of its support to President Obama and the Democratic ticket in the November 6 Presidential Election.
Nonetheless, eyes should remain on California during this time, as the state’s Democratic Party might gain the coveted 2/3 majority in the State Senate, as known as a supermajority. The Senate needs 2 seats to achieve such; and the 27th district, which includes the city of Long Beach in the greater Los Angeles area, is expected to be a battleground to determine the supermajority.
In addition, certain ballot propositions will be dramatic game-changers on November 6. Proposition 34 to legally terminate the death penalty in California, and replace it with a lifetime sentence in prison, has received over seven million of donations in support. However, a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll reports that most voters are reluctant to abolish the death penalty entirely.
Proposition 37 is another high-debated issue over the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. If put into play, the proposition could dramatically alter the market of eco friendly consumerism: companies would have to undergo strict processes in order to place the sought-after “natural” label on their products. Even though $45.6 million has been donated for the “No on 37” effort, numerous California-based health companies like Nature’s Path Food and Amy Kitchen have voiced their support for the act.
PolicyMic will be covering the 2012 election from the state of California live. For live updates, bookmark and refresh this page.
UPDATE: 5:34 PST
The votes are being counted, the candidates are already congratulating their respective campaign managers, and Brian Williams just told me how incredibly close this election is going to be. Giddy up everyone.
UPDATE: 5:45 PST
While the California blogs are nearing a close, it's important to address how minorities will impact this campaign. The reason why Obama was so successful back in 2008 was arguably due to his campaign's ability to get minorities to vote--something on which previous Democratic candidates didn't focus enough. In the 80's, 91 percent of voters were white; and in 2008, that percentage fell to 74, according to a San Jose Mercury News report. Minorities were huge to the outcome of the 2008 Election -- but I'm hesitant to say that they'll play as big of a role in this national and Californian election. After all, there are no propositions on this year's ballot this specifically aid a certain minority group; rather, most props impact groups based wealth (Prop 30, for instance). It'll be fascinating to see how we split.
UPDATE: 6:16 PST
Governor Brown is supposedly already organizing a Prop 30 party, even though the polls do not close for a bit less than 2 hours. Dan Newman, a spokesman for the Yes on 30 proposition, told reporters that he is "feeling pretty confident."
UPDATE: 7:12 PST
In national news, the election is expected to be determined by Ohio, a state that has been monumental in determining the presidency since the 1960s. Obama seems to have a slight edge in the counties that matter, like the one including Cleveland.
UPDATE: 7:17 PST
Exit polls predict that Elizabeth Emken will lose her Senate race to incumbent Dianne Feinstein.
UPDATE: 7:39 PST
CNN analyst and correspondent Van Jones claims that the young vote will be key in the national election, but it will naturally contribute to the California election, especially with Prop 37.
Most of the younger generation of Californians support "Yes on 37" because the campaign has done a spectacular job in advertising the positive impacts of labeling GMO's. However, many believe that the idea of labeling GMO's is great, yet Prop 37 won't solve all of our problems -- it may, in fact, contribute more stress on the agrarian sector. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported:
"Should genetically modified food be labeled and face more thorough regulation? That is a completely valid question, one that should be the focus of congressional hearings and possible federal legislation. It is not, however, an issue that should be addressed via a weakly crafted state ballot proposition whose leading donor appears to stand to gain from its passage."
UPDATE: 8:01 PST
CNN & Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin said that California's results will greatly increase Obama's popular vote. In previous polls a few days ago, Romney was expected to win the popular vote and Obama, the electoral college vote.
UPDATE: 8:06 PST
Easy win for Feinstein, Anderson Cooper calls.
UPDATE: 8:23 PST
UPDATE: 8:47 PST
Prop 35 - which will create more penalties for sex offenders and expand the definition of human trafficking to include child pornography - is expected to pass.
UPDATE: 8:50 PST
Shocking! Both Prop 30 (Gov. Brown's tax proposal for education reform) and Prop 37 (mandatory labeling of GMO foods) are losing so far. Prop 30 trails 47-53, with 10 percent of precincts in; Prop 37 trails 41-58.
UPDATE: 8:54 PST
Prop 36 on the Three Strikes Law (to shorten sentencing for some nonviolent offenders) leads with a large margin, 69-31. I predict that Props 34 and 36 will be passed together, as both deal with less governmental spending on prisons and death row.
UPDATE: 9:02 PST
HUGE night for Democrats. Senator Feinstein is re-elected; both Fox News and CNN agree that Obama will be the President of the US for the next four years.
Romney and Ryan ran a well-thought, meaningful campaign. Best to them and their families. But I do hope that the Republican loss will make the GOP realize how crucial it is to reform and de-radicalize their party. This is not the18th century. Saying rape comments about women, even if it was months away in a random Midwestern town, can kill an election. Listen to Meghan McCain.
UPDATE: 9:05 PST
CNN reveals that since the millennial generation has voted for Gore, Kerry and Obama in the past four elections, they have thus solidified their partisan support for the Democratic Party for the rest of their lives.
UPDATE: 9:09 PST
Prop 39 is winning by a landslide. It will raise $1 billion for sustainable energy initiatives. Just your average eco friendly-hippie measure about to be passed by us Californians.
UPDATE: 9:27 PST
Prop 32 trails by a narrow margin. The act, if passed, would alter parts of California's campaign finance rules, including one which would greatly hinder unions from raising money for political funding.
The problem is that Prop 32 would take away most of unions' rights to campaign for a political party -- and thus force the state of California politics to be more influenced by organizations similar to Super-PACs.
An editorial by the San Jose Mercury News exclaimed that Prop 32 "actually tilts the political playing field in favor of the wealthy and corporations."
UPDATE: 10:03 PST
As Mitt Romney prepares to give his concession speech in Boston, Molly Munger's Prop 38 is struggling to gain a win. I predict that if one of the two education-funding propositions pass, either Prop 30 or Prop 38, it will be Gov. Brown's Prop 30.
UPDATE: 10:13 PST
Measure F to fund the draining the Yosemite reservoir admits concession.
UPDATE: 10:24 PST
Prop 30 is likely to pass -- it's coming back, and the most liberal counties of California (Los Angeles and San Francisco) have yet to reveal their official results.
