November 4 election: presidential, state, city, county and special districts
Key dates and deadlines
Sept. 25: Mailing of sample ballots begins
Oct. 6: First day to apply for vote-by-mail ballot
Oct. 20: Last day to register
Oct. 28: Last day to apply for vote-by-mail ballot
Nov. 4: Election Day
Dec. 15: Electoral college convenes
Voting information
Register to vote (deadline is Oct. 20) (Click here to go to the California secretary of state Web site)
Apply for vote-by-mail ballot (deadline is Oct. 28) (Click here to go to the Los Angeles County registrar web site)
Find your polling place and check your sample ballot:
Los Angeles County: lavote.net/locator/
Orange County: ocvote.com/vote/pollfind/
Ventura County: smartvoter.org/ca/vn/
More information about the Nov. 4 election from the Los Angeles County Registrar (lavote.net), the California Secretary of State (sos.ca.gov/elections/elections.htm), and the Los Angeles City Clerk (cityclerk.lacity.org/election/).
November 4 ballot (in most of Los Angeles)
California ballot measures:
Proposition 1A: "Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century." Authorizes issuance of $9.95 billion of general obligation bonds to create a high-speed passenger train network beginning with a line between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Proposition 2: "California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act." Prohibits confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, or fully extend their limbs.
Proposition 3: "Children's Hospital Bond Act." Authorizes issuance of $980 million in bonds to build, renovate and equip children's hospitals.
Proposition 4: "Sarah's Law: the Child and Teen Safety and Stop Predators Act." Requires parental notification prior to minors' abortions.
Proposition 5: "Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act of 2008." Establishes a California secretary of rehabilitation and parole and other departments, offices and programs intended to provide rehabilitation and alternative sentencing for drug defendants.
Proposition 6: "Safe Neighborhoods Act." Establishes an Office of Public Safety Education and Information and appropriates $12.5 million annually to pay for it and other programs; establishes a California Early Intervention, Rehabilitation and Accountability Commission to evaluate publicly funded anti-crime programs and sets standards for such programs; appropriates $92.5 million annually to help counties house juvenile offenders; appropriates $50 million for a Juvenile Probation Facility and Supervision Fund; broadens the admissibility of hearsay evidence; establishes a Crimestopper Reward Reimbursement Fund and appropriates $10 million annually to fund it; stiffens penalties for threatening judges and witnesses and for various gang-related crimes; broadens civil actions against gangs; and establishes other programs and laws intended to protect crime victims and more effectively deter crime and punish criminals.
Proposition 7: "The Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008." Establishes mandatory renewable energy threshold for the L.A. Department of Water and Power and other government utilities.
Proposition 8: "California Marriage Protection Act." Outlaws same-sex marriage by adding the following words to the state Constitution: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
Proposition 9: "Marsy's Law: the Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008." Broadens role of victims and victims' families in parole hearings and restricts frequency of hearing.
Proposition 10: "The California Renewable Energy and Clean Alternative Fuel Act." Authorizes $5 billion in bonds ($9.8 billion with interest), much of which would provide rebates to buyers of hybrids and other alternative-fuel cars and fund research.
Proposition 11: "Voters FIRST Act." Redistricting Constitutional Amendment and Statute. Would transfer the power to re-draw Assembly, state Senate, and Board of Equalization district lines, once every 10 years after census data come in, from the political parties and elected officials to a 14-member citizens' commission.
Proposition 12: "California Veterans Bond." Would extend the current Cal-Vet program which helps veterans buy homes and farms with lower interest rates. Veterans' payments historically have covered the cost of servicing the state bonds, but if they don't, lenders are repaid from the state's general fund. The Cal-Vet program began in 1921 and currently is available only to veterans who served before 1977. The measure would allow those who have served since them to take advantage of the program.
City of Los Angeles ballot measures:
Measure A: Parcel tax. A tax of $3 per month on each parcel of propety in the City of Los Angeles to fund anti-gang programs.
Measure B: Affordable housing. A measure to remove some height restrictions on low-rent housing that is fully or partially funded with state money.
Other regional and local measures:
Measure R: Sales tax. Metropolitan Transportation Authority 1/2-cent sales tax to fund transportation.
Measure U: Utility users tax. Los Angeles County measure to extend the utility user tax in unincorporated county areas to telecommunications equipment not covered by the present telephone tax, while reducing the rate from 5% to 4.5%.
Measure J: Los Angeles Community College District. $3.5 billion bond measure for construction and education (to be repaid with a property tax increase).
Measure Q: Los Angeles Unified School District. $7 billion construction bond (to be repaid with a property tax increase).
President of the United States
The nominees:
Republican John McCain
Democrat Barack Obama
Times endorsements in February 8 California primary:
John McCain
Barack Obama
Los Angeles County supervisor:
(Second District voters only) Endorsed by the Los Angeles Times for June 3 election
Los Angeles Superior Court judge:
Candidates marked with a double asterisk (**) have been endorsed by The Times.Office No. 72
Ballot designation: Criminal Trial Prosecutor
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Well Qualified
Ballot designation: Consumer Rights Attorney
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Qualified
Office No. 82
Ballot designation: Superior Court Referee
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Qualified
Ballot designation: Criminal Prosecutor
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Well Qualified
Office No. 84
Ballot designation: Criminal Gang Prosecutor
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Not Qualified
Ballot designation: Superior Court Commissioner
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Not Qualified
Office No. 94
Ballot designation: Criminal Prosecutor
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Well Qualified
Ballot designation: Criminal Trial Attorney
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Qualified
Office No. 154
Ballot designation: Criminal Gang Prosecutor
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Well Qualified
Ballot designation: Superior Court Commissioner
Los Angeles County Bar Association rating: Well Qualified
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