One of the biggest initiatives on the fall ballot in California is Proposition 32, which aims to succeed where previous initiatives have failed: in protecting California workers from having their union dues spent for political purposes without their consent.Given the tremendous influence of big labor in the Golden State, the effort is both (a) a necessary precondition of serious reform and (b) a very heavy lift politically.Its prospects? According to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California, it will go right down to the wire.
From the Los Angeles Times:
There's good news and bad news here.The good news is that the closeness of the race (particularly when the margin of error is factored in) means that all hope of reforming California's public sector is not lost.The bad news is that the high stakes virtually ensure an orgy of union money in the final weeks of this race -- an irony that shouldn't be lost on California voters.The survey, conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California and released late Wednesday, found that likely voters narrowly oppose Proposition 32, with 49% saying they would vote 'no' and 42% saying they would vote 'yes.' The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
