2009 California elections

2009 California elections

← Nov 2008 May 19, 2009 Jun 2010 →
Registered	17,153,012[1]
Turnout	28.40%[1]

Elections in California
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v t e

The California state special elections, 2009 were held on May 19, 2009, throughout the state of California. The elections were authorized by the State Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a part of a budget signed into law on February 19, 2009. Voters voted on six ballot propositions, 1A through 1F, for the open 26th State Senate district seat, and in a primary for the open 32nd congressional district seat. All of the propositions except 1F were defeated.

In February 2009 the State Legislature narrowly passed the 2008–2009 state budget during a special session, months after it was due. As part of the plan to lower the state's annual deficits, the State Legislature ordered a special election with various budget reform ballot propositions.^[2]

Proposition 1A was a constitutional amendment that would have increased the annual contributions to the state's rainy day fund.

Proposition 1A^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
No	3,152,141	65.39
Yes	1,668,216	34.61
Valid votes	4,820,357	98.94
Invalid or blank votes	51,588	1.06
Total votes	4,871,945	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	17,153,012	28.40

Proposition 1B would have secured additional funding for primary education, but only if Proposition 1A passed as well.

Proposition 1B^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
No	2,975,560	61.86
Yes	1,834,242	38.14
Valid votes	4,809,802	98.72
Invalid or blank votes	62,143	1.28
Total votes	4,871,945	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	17,153,012	28.40

Proposition 1C was a constitutional amendment that would have made significant changes to the operation of the State Lottery.

Proposition 1C^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
No	3,085,138	64.35
Yes	1,708,800	35.65
Valid votes	4,793,938	98.40
Invalid or blank votes	78,007	1.60
Total votes	4,871,945	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	17,153,012	28.40

Proposition 1D would have authorized a one-time reallocation of tobacco tax revenue to help balance the state budget.

Proposition 1D^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
No	3,157,680	65.91
Yes	1,633,107	34.09
Valid votes	4,790,787	98.33
Invalid or blank votes	81,158	1.67
Total votes	4,871,945	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	17,153,012	28.40

Proposition 1E would have authorized a one-time reallocation of income tax revenue to help balance the state budget.

Proposition 1E^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
No	3,169,163	66.48
Yes	1,597,907	33.52
Valid votes	4,767,070	97.85
Invalid or blank votes	104,875	2.15
Total votes	4,871,945	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	17,153,012	28.40

Proposition 1F prohibited pay raises for members of the State Legislature, the Governor, and other state officials during deficit years.

Proposition 1F^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	3,565,419	74.23
No	1,237,694	25.77
Valid votes	4,803,113	98.59
Invalid or blank votes	68,832	1.41
Total votes	4,871,945	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	17,153,012	28.40

Field Poll: March 3, 2009

Among likely voters:

Proposition	Yes	No
1A	57%	21%
1B	53%	30%
1C	47%	39%
1D	54%	24%
1E	57%	23%
1F	77%	13%

SurveyUSA Poll: March 11–12, 2009 (commissioned by KABC-TV, KFSN-TV, KGTV-TV, and KPIX-TV)

Among likely voters:

Proposition	Yes	No
1A	27%	29%
1B	38%	30%
1C	28%	29%
1D	40%	28%
1E	36%	30%
1F	27%	31%

PPIC Poll: March 25, 2009

Among likely voters:

Proposition	Yes	No
1A	39%	46%
1B	44%	41%
1C	37%	50%
1D	48%	36%
1E	47%	37%
1F	81%	13%

SurveyUSA Poll: April 20–21, 2009 (commissioned by KABC-TV, KFSN-TV, KGTV-TV, and KPIX-TV)

Among likely voters:

Proposition	Yes	No
1A	29%	42%
1B	37%	42%
1C	23%	41%
1D	37%	39%
1E	32%	41%
1F	32%	34%

Field Poll: April 29, 2009

Among likely voters:

Proposition	Yes	No
1A	40%	49%
1B	40%	49%
1C	32%	59%
1D	40%	49%
1E	40%	51%
1F	71%	24%

A special election to fill the 26th district of the State Senate was called by Governor Schwarzenegger on December 10, 2008, as a consequence of the resignation of former State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas following his election to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. A special primary election was held on March 24, 2009, and the special election was held on May 19, 2009.^[4]

A total of eight candidates registered for the special election, but only three qualified for the special election:^[5]

• Robert Cole, a member of the Los Angeles County Citizens' Economy and Efficiency Committee
• Mike Davis, the State Assemblymember from the 48th district
• Saundra Davis, a board member of the Culver City Unified School District and a businesswoman
• Mervin Leon Evans, an author and management consultant
• Jonathan Friedman, a financial analyst
• Curren D. Price, Jr., the State Assemblymember from the 51st district

• Cindy Variela Henderson, a communications technician

• Nachum Shifren, an educator

An open primary election for the special election was held on March 24, 2009. Since no candidate won a majority, the candidates with the top votes for each party advanced to the special general election. Price won more votes than any other Democrat while Shifren and Henderson were the only candidates of their parties.^[6]

California's 26th State Senate district special primary, 2009^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Curren Price	10,864	35.84
	Democratic	Mike Davis	6,471	21.35
	Democratic	Robert Cole	4,160	13.72
	Republican	Nachum Shifren	3,371	11.12
	Democratic	Jonathan Friedman	2,497	8.24
	Democratic	Saundra Davis	2,262	7.46
	Peace and Freedom	Cindy Henderson	525	1.73
	Democratic	Mervin Evans	165	0.54
Valid ballots			30,315	98.19
Invalid or blank votes			558	1.81
Total votes			30,873	100.00
Turnout				7.91

In the special runoff election, Democratic Curren Price won by a large margin, beating Republican Nachum Schifren and Peace and Freedom Party candidate Cindy Henderson.^[7]

California's 26th State Senate district special election, 2009^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Curren Price	37,677	70.72
	Republican	Nachum Shifren	11,097	20.83
	Peace and Freedom	Cindy Henderson	4,501	8.45
Valid ballots			53,275	83.24
Invalid or blank votes			10,726	16.76
Total votes			64,001	100.00
Turnout				18.59
	Democratic hold

A special election to fill the 32nd congressional district was called by Governor Schwarzenegger on March 10, 2009, as a consequence of the resignation of former Congresswoman Hilda Solis following her appointment as United States Secretary of Labor. The special primary election was May 19, 2009 while the special election was held on July 14, 2009.^[8] The election was won by Democrat Judy Chu, who became the first Chinese American woman elected to serve in Congress.

In the May 19 primary, Democrat Judy Chu led all candidates, but failed to gain enough to prevent a runoff general election. Betty Chu qualified as the Republican candidate for the runoff and Christopher Agrella qualified as the Libertarian.^[3]

California's 32nd congressional district special primary, 2009^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Judy Chu	17,661	32.64
	Democratic	Gil Cedillo	12,570	23.23
	Democratic	Emanuel Pleitez	7,252	13.40
	Republican	Betty Chu	5,648	10.44
	Republican	Teresa Hernandez	4,581	8.47
	Republican	David Truax	3,303	6.10
	Democratic	Francisco Alonso	1,097	2.03
	Libertarian	Christopher Agrella	654	1.21
	Democratic	Benita Duran	659	1.22
	Democratic	Stefan Lysenko	246	0.45
	Democratic	Nick Mostert	244	0.45
	Democratic	Rafael Nadal	200	0.37
	Republican	Larry Scarborough (write-in)	1	0.00
Valid ballots			54,116	94.57
Invalid or blank votes			3,106	5.43
Total votes			57,222	100.00
Turnout				26.21

In the special runoff election, Democratic Judy Chu won by a significant margin, beating Republican Betty Chu and Libertarian candidate Christopher Agrella.^[9]

California's 32nd congressional district special election, 2009^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Judy Chu	16,194	61.85
	Republican	Betty Chu	8,630	32.96
	Libertarian	Christopher Agrella	1,356	5.18
	Independent	Eleanor Garcia (write-in)	2	0.01
Valid ballots			26,182	98.99
Invalid or blank votes			267	1.01
Total votes			26,449	100.00
Turnout				10.79
	Democratic hold

• May 2009 Statewide Election Results from the California Secretary of State