Less than a week before Election Day, California voters appear to be bucking a tradition of casting no votes when faced with an overwhelmingly crowded and confusing ballot.
A new Field-IGS Poll suggests voters are headed toward legalizing recreational marijuana, hiking taxes on cigarettes, beefing up the state’s already tough gun laws and freeing more nonviolent offenders by overhauling the state’s parole system.
“It’s not as if this long ballot is leading to this no, no, no, no, no syndrome,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of The Field Poll.
But voters are less agreeable about competing death-penalty initiatives — with 51 percent supporting Proposition 62 to abolish the practice; and 48 percent in favor of Proposition 66, which would speed up executions. If both pass, the one with the most votes would prevail. …