Poll: Prop 36 (Three Strikes Repeal) Has Huge Lead

One of the major reasons I did not re-register to vote in Virginia even though I have been living and working there since August 2011 and it is a swing state in the presidential election, was my desire to vote on the 11 ballot measures pending before California voters this election. (Another reason was to make sure to vote for my friend Luis Lopez to become my Assemblymember in the 51st District, but that is another matter!)

I turned in my absentee ballot last week. You can see how I voted on all 11 pending ballot propositions.

I am particularly interested in the passage of Propositions 30, 34 and 36. Propositions 30 (which would insure a new revenue of up to $6 billion per year for schools, community colleges and public universities) and Proposition 34 (which would replace the death penalty with life without parole) both seem to be in very tight races with the result in doubt. The latest Los Angeles Times poll indicates that Prop. 34 is at 42% Yes, 45% No (which reflects an increase in support) while Prop. 30 is at 46% yes, 42% No (and reflects a sharp decrease in support).

However, the one bright spot in the latest polling on the Propositions is the huge support for amending the Three Strikes law, with 63% in support and a mere 22% in opposition. This is very exciting, because it would be the first time in years that California has voted to reduce the size of the prison-industrial complex and reject "soft-on-crime" taunts.