http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006 Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:20:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This blog is now in retirement (i.e., it's no longer being updated). The blog will remain available to review, as will all of the Hot Topics pages for each 2006 ballot measure. We'll assess how the blog and our other resources have performed, and we'll be back with even more information ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/96 Democratic candidates across the country may not have made a raise in the minimum wage the centerpiece of their campaigns this year, but the minimum wage issue appears to be one who time has definitely arrived. The federal miniumum wage is currently $5.15 per hour. The last time that the federal ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/105 Of the 11 states with eminent domain measures on the November ballot, nine passed the measures into law. The states that passed eminent domain measures were Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, and South Carolina. Eminent domain measures failed to pass in California and Idaho. The Initiative ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/104 Despite predictions that same-sex marriage could turn the November election (the same way that conventional wisdom holds that it did in 2004), as Ben Adler wrote in The New Republic recently, "All in all, gay marriage policies, including not only anti-marriage referenda but also the New Jersey Supreme Court’s pro-gay ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/103 There were tobacco taxes similar to Proposition 86 on the ballot in Missouri, Arizona, and South Dakota this year. The latter two measures passed. Missouri's tobacco tax measure failed. Although industry analysts warned before the election that tobacco manufacturers faced an uphill struggle to defeat Proposition 86 because of most Californians' ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/102 A November 9 Los Angeles Times article noted that Proposition 87's defeat was largely due to voter unease about the cost and the mechanics of the measure's implementation. Foremost in voters' minds were worries about the cost of gasoline going up and the nature of the bureaucracy necessary to implement ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/101 Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee pointed out in an excellent column on November 14 that any serious analysis of the results of the election this year needs to take into account the low turnout. Low turnout was predicted, and low turnout happened. About 7.5 million Californians cast ballots this year. ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/100 According to a November 9 Los Angeles Times article, the line of competitors is already forming for funds available under the $42.7 billion in infrastructure bonds passed by voters on Election Day. Other post-election articles feature quotes very similar to this one from the president of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/99 Another significant part of the election this year was that the governor had very little in the way of coattails for any of the Republican downticket candidates. The only Republican downticket candidate who won was Insurance Commissioner-elect Steve Poizner, who beat out Cruz Bustamante by a 51-39% margin. All of the ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/98 The biggest news about the slate of propositions on he California ballot this year was that there were quite a number of expectations defied. None of the big infrastructure measures fell. In fact, most passed with comfortable margins. The conventional wisdom was that voters were going to be too wary of ... http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/archives/97