California Common Cause is proud to support Proposition 71, which would change the date that future ballot measures will take effect from the day after the election to five days after the Secretary of State certifies the result of the vote.

Current law requires successful ballot measures to take effect the day after the election that passes them. However, if the vote results are close enough, it can often take days to weeks to certify whether or not a ballot measure has passed—making it unclear during that time period what, precisely, the effective law in the state is. This problem is exacerbated by vote-by-mail (VBM) voting, which now accounts for about 60% of ballots cast in California, as such validly cast ballots often arrive in the mail several days after election day.

To remedy this problem, the Legislature unanimously referred ACA 17, which became Proposition 71, to the ballot. By delaying the effective date of ballot measures until after the final vote is known, it eliminates the strange twilight period after an election where California law is in effect unknowable. Proposition 71 provides a clear, simple improvement to the ballot measure process, so California Common Cause urges you to vote yes on Prop 71 this June.