State of Confusion

"More than half of the initiatives don’t pass, and some that do are sensible. But much of the system has been perverted into the opposite of what Hiram Johnson intended. It is not ordinary citizens but rich tycoons from Hollywood or Silicon Valley, or special interests such as unions for prison guards, teachers or nurses, that bankroll most initiatives onto the ballots.
"Then comes a barrage of television commercials, junk mail and robo-calls that leave no Californian home unmolested and the great majority confused. Propositions tend to be badly worded, with double negatives that leave some voters thinking they voted for something when they really voted against."

The Economist calls California "[t]he ungovernable state."

Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times reports on anger over the ease of amending the state's constitution.

Harold Meyerson in The Washington Post blames Proposition 13 for California's woes.