I really want to get to the end of this California ballot, so that I can mail off my vote and not have to think about it any more. I’m getting spam from the anti-79 people several times a day, and I’m seeing TV commercials for and against just about all of the propositions, but they all boil down to the same thing: the election is a referendum on Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you like him you vote one way; if you think he’s a schmuck, you vote the other way.

When I looked at Proposition 77, I realized that not only had I already made up my mind about it, but I’d also written about it. And I haven’t changed my mind about this measure, which has the title “Redistricting.” Every two years we elect a new state legislature to conduct our business. They are accountable to us. If we don’t like what they do, we replace them. One of their responsibilities is drawing legislative districts.

Proposition 77 would take this responsibility out of the hands of elected officials and hand it over to a panel of retired judges who are accountable to no one. Even if you think that the redistricting process needs an overhaul, this is not the way to do it. It’s not even fair, because the pool of judges comes nowhere near representing the diversity of the people in the state. By the time you boil it down to three of them, what you have is a pretty shallow pool. I can’t see that it’s in anyone’s best interest to vote for this one, unless you’re a rich old white man. (Even three out of four isn’t enough to induce me to vote for it.)

Proposition 78 and Proposition 79 both deal with reducing drug prices. One of them, Proposition 78, is deceptively titled, “Discounts on Prescription Drugs.” It’s supported by the drug companies and puts pricing in their hands only, in the form of “voluntary” discounts. Seriously. Voluntary discounts, no enforcement. And they want us to vote for it!

Proposition 79, “Prescription Drug Discounts. State-Negotiated Rebates,” is strongly and loudly opposed by the drug cartel. It penalizes companies that refuse to provide discounts to seniors, the chronically ill (who spend a large percentage of their income on drugs), and others who are outside the health care system. How does it penalize them? By refusing to give them state business. Pretty simple, and pretty good incentive to keep prices down. The state negotiates the best price, and the company that provides it gets the business.

So, just to be clear, I’m voting No on 78 and Yes on 79.

I think that’s clear. Isn’t it?

Californians have been on a roller coaster of electrical prices and availability ever since those industries were deregulated. That’s what let Enron rob the state blind while plunging us into darkness a few years back. Maybe they thought being blind wouldn’t be as bad if we were left in the dark. Or that we wouldn’t notice.

Now comes Proposition 80, “Electric Service Providers Regulation,” which would restore state regulation of private energy companies, preventing them from the kind of market manipulation that Enron got away with here. It will make it easier for small businesses to compete, by keeping prices down and availability up (not just for big corporations), and it will help consumers for the same reasons.

There are other good things in Proposition 80, dealing with conservation and renewable sources. It’s the kind of forward thinking that would never happen if we left things up to the energy companies. That’s why we need this one to pass.

That’s it! That’s the whole state ballot. Eight propositions, no on the first six and yes on the last two. There is one local measure on my ballot, one that would ban genetically engineered crops in the county for the next ten years. This is to allow time for testing, to see what effect mutant organisms have on us before we turn them loose. It doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me, although the scare tactics used by both sides are a bit of a turn-off.

I’ll vote yes, because I have three small nephews and one tiny niece, and I don’t like the idea that they can be used as the subjects of scientific experiments without their knowledge or consent (or their parent’s knowledge or consent). They didn’t volunteer to be experimented on, and I’m not going to volunteer them.