The nature of American politics 43islature even considering it and without the governor’s signature. The state
constitution requires the collection of signatures totalling 5 per cent of the
vote cast in the last previous election for a proposition to be placed on the
ballot for consideration by the electorate. Two of the very many initiatives to
have become law in this way are Proposition 13 in 1978, which slashed the
property tax level in half, with very serious consequences for local services,
and Proposition 22, passed in 2000, which outlawed gay marriages in the
state.
The referendum enables voters to prevent the implementation of state
constitutional amendments, or laws intending to raise money through the
issue of state bonds. Compared with the initiative, the referendum has been
relatively unimportant, but recently the third of the participatory instru-
ments, the recall, has acquired new significance. The recall is a procedure
which allows voters to remove from office state and local elected officials,
including judges, in the period between elections. In 2003 a movement began
to remove the Democratic state governor, Gray Davis, who had gained re-
election only in 2002 and still had three years of his term of office to run. In
the ensuing election the recall was approved and Davis was replaced by Re-
publican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The problem of these participatory proce-
dures, particularly the initiative, is that they become yet another instrument
for the manipulation of the policy process by pressure groups.
This diversity and complexity results in California’s particular brand of
politics, the politics of ‘hyperpluralism’; the idea of majority rule in the state
has given way to rule by minorities. To quote David Lawrence again, ‘The ex-
ercise of political power has become a highly competitive tug-of-war between
institutions, policymakers, political parties, numerous interest groups, and
voters.’ Because the role of the American states is still so important and the
decisions that they take make a considerable impact on the lives of their citi-
zens, this tortuous policy process has a real impact on the quality of govern-
ment in California. The problem of coordinating the activities of government
becomes almost insoluble; state finances are in a continuing crisis; what are
intended as instruments of majoritarian democracy instead give to relatively
small groups the opportunity to exercise undue influence to achieve their
own self-interested ends. Thus vitally important policy areas, such as the sup-
ply of water and the generation of electricity, which are essentially matters
for the state government, are not being adequately addressed.
The nature of politics within the state has considerable consequences also
for the government of the United States. California has fifty-three members
in the House of Representatives, 12 per cent of the total membership, as
well as its two Senators. A number of the chairmen of congressional stand-
ing committees come from California. As the largest state in the Union,
with fifty-five members in the Electoral College, its potential impact on the
outcome of presidential elections is enormous. The disorganised politics of
the state feed into the behaviour of its delegations in Congress and into the
conduct of presidential elections.