TO: CVF-NEWS
FROM: Kim Alexander
DATE: November 20, 1998
RE: CA Defense of Marriage Act, Final Election Results and more

Hi Folks,

In this edition of CVF-NEWS:

* California Defense of Marriage Act Qualifies for 2000 Primary Ballot
* Bill Jones wins re-election; Prop. 10 passes
* Still plenty of time to become a CVF charter member!

California Defense of Marriage Act Qualifies for 2000 Primary Ballot

Can you believe it’s just 14 months until the next election?! California’s 2000 Primary election is already taking shape, with five measures now qualified for the ballot. Most recently, on Tuesday Secretary of State Bill Jones announced that the California Defense of Marriage Act qualified for the 2000 Primary ballot.

Though it may be the shortest initiative ever to appear on a California ballot (it is merely 14 words), the California Defense of Marriage Act is already shaping into a highly-controversial and emotional measure. The initiative, if passed, would add a new statute to California’s Family Code that reads:

“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

This initiative comes on the heels of two similar measures that passed on Nov. 3, 1998, in Hawaii and Alaska. California’s effort is being led by State Senator Pete Knight (R - Palmdale). The committee formed to support this initiative is called Californians for the Defense of Marriage, and their headquarters are based in Tustin, CA. Their phone number is (714) 573-2252, and they have a web site at http://www.doma.org. However, there’s not much information available at that site -- a better resource on this initiative is the Capitol Resource Institute, a conservative think-tank and policy organization based in Sacramento. They’ve published an informative (though somewhat biased) backgrounder on this issue on the Web -- it’s available at:

http://www.capitolresource.org/b_doma.htm

In addition to the California Defense of Marriage Act, four other measures are also slated for the March 2000 ballot -- three of these are measures placed on the ballot by the Legislature, and one is an initiative sponsored by Governor Pete Wilson dealing with juvenile crime.

Bill Jones wins re-election; Prop. 10 passes

Continued counting of absentee ballots indicates that Bill Jones (Republican candidate for Secretary of State) has in fact won his re-election, defeating Democrat Michela Alioto by a mere 1.1 percent. In addition, Prop. 10, which imposes new cigarette taxes to pay for early childhood development programs, has passed. To view these and more election results online, visit http://www.calvoter.org.

Still plenty of time to become a CVF charter member!

A big thanks to the many people who have already signed up to become a CVF charter member. With the end of the year approaching, there’s no better time to make a tax-deductible contribution to CVF. What are you waiting for? Make your accountant proud. Make your parents proud. Become a CVF charter member! It takes just two minutes and it’s really easy. Visit http://www.calvoter.org/membership and sign up today!

-- Kim Alexander, President
California Voter Foundation
kimalex@netcom.com