California Propositions: Direct Democracy at Scale
How California's ballot proposition system works, its landmark measures from Proposition 13 to Proposition 22, and the lessons it offers about direct democracy in practice.
The Proposition State
California's ballot proposition system is the most active and consequential in the United States. Since 1911, California voters have decided on hundreds of propositions covering every conceivable policy area. Some have transformed the state. Proposition 13 (1978) capped property taxes at 1% of assessed value, starving local governments of revenue and fundamentally reshaping California's fiscal landscape. Proposition 187 (1994) sought to deny public services to undocumented immigrants (later struck down by courts). Proposition 8 (2008) banned same-sex marriage (later overturned).
More recently, Proposition 64 (2016) legalized recreational marijuana, and Proposition 22 (2020) exempted app-based transportation companies from labor laws requiring them to classify drivers as employees. These measures illustrate the breadth of issues Californians decide directly — from social policy to tax law to the gig economy.