While I cannot legally endorse any candidates, I CAN recommend positions on ballot measures.

However you choose to vote, please educate yourself before you make any decisions one way or another – ultimately your vote is yours and yours alone.

On propositions 30 and 38, the taxation and education funding initiatives, I’m definitely for a YES vote on 30 as it saves public education. However, recommending NO on 38 is tough even though I don’t agree with it. That’s because if both 30 and 38 get more NO votes than YES, K-12 public education is left without any funding at all. Therefore I wholeheartedly recommend YES on 30 and grudgingly recommend YES on 38. My preference is for 30 to get more YES votes than 38.

Proposition 31 is the most difficult one to decide. I can see some value in both sides. However, the sheer complication built into it moves me to vote NO on 31 even if some of the provisions may be noble. In my view, it’s better to reject a complicated proposition than to pass it now and try to reform it later.

Proposition 32 is, in my view, one of the most important ballot measures and I recommend a resounding NO vote on it. It is a measure actively designed to fool California voters who care about campaign finance into stripping unions of their political power. If corporations have first amendment rights, unions, who actually represent real people, have them too. Besides, union members can already opt out of paycheck contributions to political causes under current law.

I take my cue from Consumer Watchdog on Proposition 33 – the Mercury Insurance sponsored proposition designed to trick voters and recommend a clear NO vote.

Proposition 34, which would ban the death penalty in California is also a no-brainer for me as I am morally opposed to the death penalty. So I recommend voting YES on prop 34 as it would ensure California never executes an innocent person.

Proposition 35 is a complex issue. While I am obviously opposed to human trafficking like most people of conscience, I feel it is too broad. We already over-criminalize and over-imprison in this state and the added opposition from prominent members of the anti-trafficking community and of sex-workers moves me to recommend a NO vote on Prop 35.

Proposition 36 is a weak reform of the Three Strikes Law. The law, in my opinion, needs a much greater overhaul, which was narrowly rejected by voters some years ago. If 36 passes, it’s a start. I strongly recommend a YES vote on Prop 36 to allow re-sentencing of non-violent third strikers.

Proposition 37 is arguably the most important ballot measure tomorrow, especially if you base it on how badly big business wants it to fail. It’s not just about GMO labeling, it’s about asserting our rights over what we want to put into our bodies and a vote for something Monsanto is against, is again a no-brainer. I recommend a YES vote on 37.

Proposition 39 is perhaps the only measure supported by a wealthy individual that I also support. It’s a win-win for California tax payers and small businesses based in this state and a potential windfall for the state’s economy and especially a green economy. Let’s close corporate tax loop holes – I recommend a YES vote on 39.

And finally, proposition 40, a measure that should never have stayed on the ballot. A YES vote preserves the more democratic and representative Senate redistricting methods that voters already adopted. I recommend a YES vote on prop 40.

SUMMARY OF SONALI’S RECOMMENDATIONS:

Proposition 30 YES
Proposition 31 NO
Proposition 32 NO
Proposition 33 NO
Proposition 34 YES
Proposition 35 NO
Proposition 36 YES
Proposition 37 YES
Proposition 38 YES
Proposition 39 YES
Proposition 40 YES