November elections often leave California voters contending with too much of a good thing: a heap of propositions that clutter the ballot. Remember 2016, when the ballot had 17 measures, including two on the death penalty and another two on plastic bags?
On the one hand, Californians love direct democracy — the power to make laws through citizen initiatives, rather than by elected lawmakers. Most voters believe they make better decisions than the Legislature.
On the other, many Californians look at the raft of confusing questions that hit the ballot because of niche industry fights (regulating dialysis clinics? rest breaks for ambulance workers? condoms for porn performers?) and think, how am I supposed to figure this out?
