"The November Electorate Is Larger, More Representative of the State as a Whole"

"Imagine what would happen if the rules allowed the Legislature to play the same games we now play with initiatives. Suppose the Legislature didn't need a quorum to enact legislation. Votes could be taken before the members of one party had arrived on the floor. This is exactly the kind of outcome we ensure by allowing initiatives to come before voters in primary elections. An initiative enacted in the 2004 presidential primary, when just 31% of the state's eligible voters participated, could have become law by the vote of just 16% of California's voter-eligible population. That would be equivalent to the 80-member Assembly being able to pass a bill with just 13 votes. California enacts as many important laws at the ballot box as it does in the statehouse, and for that reason we need to ensure that they are voted on by the largest possible portion of the state's voters."

Harold Meyerson in the Los Angeles Times argues in favor of voting on ballot initiatives during only general elections.