Have I got a Proposition for you...

This one is Proposition 40 and basically, the campaign opposing it has thrown in the towel and no longer opposes it.

The issue is the State Senate maps drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission.  There was an effort underway to get those lines overturned.  But the State Supreme Court ruled that those lines will remain in place.  However, you can't remove a proposition from the ballot once it has qualified for placement.

So it is necessary to vote Yes on this in order to keep those lines, although what might happen if the No vote was to win would become the subject of an unnecessary court challenge.

Gerrymandering is a problem in every state and California is no exception.  But in this case, there's nothing to be gained by voting "no".  So I'm voting yes.

Meanwhile, since this was so easy, let's look at another Proposition.  Prop 35, the Ban on Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery.  The idea is simple in principle.  Increase the penalties for these crimes.  The initiative includes the following:

Sentences of up to 15 years to life and fines of $1,000,000 for human trafficking.
Anyone convicted of trafficking must register as a sex offender for life.
Sex offenders must provide information about their internet access and identities.
Changes evidentiary rules about victims sexual conduct being used in court proceedings.

The L.A. Times isn't always the bellweather for me on what to do about a ballot proposition.  But what they said about this bears examination:  ""If reducing sex trafficking and forced labor were as simple as adopting a ballot measure that promised to deal with those predatory practices, there would be every reason to vote for the popular Proposition 35. But the initiative system doesn't work that way. Voters must ask more than whether they would like to see those cruelties come to an end. They must be satisfied that the particular, far-reaching and inflexible penalties and procedures that would be enacted by this measure would help; that they are the best approach to solving an actual problem; and that actual progress would dwarf any unintended consequences. Proposition 35 fails those tests."

Ask yourself this question.  With prostitution legal on the other side of the Nevada border, does California want to get into the business of branding every single person who pays a prostitute for sex as a sex offender for the rest of their life?  I don't think so. I'm of the mind that prostitution should be made legal, safer, and taxed.  But that's just me.  We can have the moral argument another time.  Right now, the question becomes is the right direction to take our state's laws.  I don't think so.  I'm voting NO on Prop 35.  All I can ask is that you educate yourself on the issue and vote your conscience.