California Ballot Measures

April 14, 2004

The deadline for turning in signatures for ballot measures in California is Friday, April 16. Several propositions have qualified for the Nov. 2 ballot, including a bond measure to finance high-speed passenger trains; a constitutional amendment providing greater access to government information; and a measure relating to healthcare coverage requirements. More than 40 other proposed initiatives are still pending.

ELIZABETH GARRETT is a director of USC’s Initiative and Referendum Institute and the USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law.
Contact: (213) 821-5438 (office), (310) 968-5398 (cell phone) or egarrett@law.usc.edu.

JOHN MATSUSAKA is president of USC’s Initiative and Referendum Institute and a professor of finance and business economics at the USC Marshall School of Business.
Contact: (213) 740-6495 (office) or matsusak@usc.edu.

The Initiative and Referendum Institute at USC is the nation’s leading educational and research entity studying initiatives, referendums and recall elections. The USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics generates rigorous interdisciplinary research on the law and social sciences. Together, these organizations are producing cutting-edge analysis of voters, direct democracy and the political process. For more information, visit their Web sites: www.iri.usc.edu and http://lawweb.usc.edu/cslp.