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Legal marijuana, rights for caged chickens — only in California.
Or maybe not.
In his winning campaign for Kansas secretary of state, Republican Kris Kobach proposed Kansas adopt a proposition system similar to the one used in California.
The ability for the people to bring an issue to ballot through proposition is in the spirit of democracy, but in practicality, propositions mean big money and special interests.
The California proposition system has tied the hands of the Legislatures in terms of the budgeting process, leading to serious economic turmoil in that state.
Because of the number of signatures required to bring a proposition question to the ballot, millions often are required to hire people to gather the necessary signatures in the prescribed time period. More money is required to pay for advertising to promote or fight the issue proceeding the election.
The money in these fights doesn’t always come from within the state as was the case in California recent issue that banned gay marriage.
Even in cases of frivolous ballot questions, propositions cost the state significantly in administration costs when pages must be added to the ballot.
Propositions may have been a good issue on which to campaign, but they are not a good fit for a practical state like Kansas.
Legal marijuana, rights for caged chickens — only in California.
Or maybe not.
In his winning campaign for Kansas secretary of state, Republican Kris Kobach proposed Kansas adopt a proposition system similar to the one used in California.
The ability for the people to bring an issue to ballot through proposition is in the spirit of democracy, but in practicality, propositions mean big money and special interests.
The California proposition system has tied the hands of the Legislatures in terms of the budgeting process, leading to serious economic turmoil in that state.
Because of the number of signatures required to bring a proposition question to the ballot, millions often are required to hire people to gather the necessary signatures in the prescribed time period. More money is required to pay for advertising to promote or fight the issue proceeding the election.
The money in these fights doesn’t always come from within the state as was the case in California recent issue that banned gay marriage.
Even in cases of frivolous ballot questions, propositions cost the state significantly in administration costs when pages must be added to the ballot.
Propositions may have been a good issue on which to campaign, but they are not a good fit for a practical state like Kansas.
