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| Registered | 17,153,012[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 28.40%[1] | |||
Elections were held inCalifornia on May 19, 2009. The elections were authorized by theState Legislature andGovernorArnold Schwarzenegger as a part of a budget signed into law on February 19, 2009. Voters voted on sixballot propositions, 1A through 1F, for the open26thState Senate district seat, and in a primary for the open32nd 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'srainy day fund.
| 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.
| 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 theState Lottery.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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 |
| 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 byKABC-TV,KFSN-TV,KGTV-TV, andKPIX-TV)
| Proposition | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | 27% | 29% |
| 1B | 38% | 30% |
| 1C | 28% | 29% |
| 1D | 40% | 28% |
| 1E | 36% | 30% |
| 1F | 27% | 31% |
| 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 byKABC-TV,KFSN-TV,KGTV-TV, andKPIX-TV)
| Proposition | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | 29% | 42% |
| 1B | 37% | 42% |
| 1C | 23% | 41% |
| 1D | 37% | 39% |
| 1E | 32% | 41% |
| 1F | 32% | 34% |
| 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 the26th district of theState Senate was called by Governor Schwarzenegger on December 10, 2008, as a consequence of the resignation of former State SenatorMark Ridley-Thomas following his election to theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors. A specialprimary 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]
Anopen 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]
| 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]
| 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 | |||
| Democratichold | ||||
A special election to fill the32nd congressional district was called by Governor Schwarzenegger on March 10, 2009, as a consequence of the resignation of former CongresswomanHilda Solis following her appointment asUnited 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 DemocratJudy 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]
| 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]
| 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 | |||
| Democratichold | ||||
