A flurry of dealmaking, largely brokered by the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom, is radically transforming the November ballot at the last minute, with agreements to withdraw a record number of measures before a key deadline this week and potentially even more changes yet to come next week.
Against a backdrop of Democratic anxiety over voter turnout and campaign resources for the November election — where California could play a crucial role in helping Democrats win back control of the U.S. House — Newsom and legislative leaders have maneuvered to reshape the swath of issues that voters will decide this fall.
Over the past week, the governor’s office and lawmakers announced five deals with the proponents of qualified ballot measures to remove them in exchange for legislative action — on employer liability, pandemic preparedness, children’s health care, high school finance classes and oil drilling. That’s more than in any previous election.
Their work may not yet be done. Though very little time remains, Newsom and legislative leaders continue to negotiate over several other proposals that could be added to the ballot next week — before it must be finalized by the Secretary of State’s Office — including bonds for school facilities and climate programs and an alternative to a tough-on-crime measure that progressives detest.
A spokesperson for Newsom refused to answer questions about why the governor’s office has been so involved this year crafting deals on ballot measures.
But there are a range of financial and political considerations for negotiating proposals off the ballot: How an initiative, which lawmakers have little power to amend, might affect the state budget; whether interest groups truly want to spend the millions necessary to wage…
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