California Initiative Editorial Scorecard

For this 2020 edition of the scorecard, we track editorials on the 12 ballot measures that California voters will decide on Tuesday, November 3.

This year’s editorial scorecard is based on circulation data from the Alliance for Audited Media for 22 newspaper outlets:

2020 California Initiative Editorial Endorsement Scorecard
Rank	Paper	Circulation
1	Los Angeles Times	653,868
2	San Jose Mercury News	527,568
3	Sacramento Bee	279,032
4	Orange County Register	250,724
5	East Bay Times	168,362
6	San Francisco Chronicle	164,820
7	Fresno Bee	157,546
8	San Diego Union-Tribune	121,321
9	La Opinion	116,256
10	The Press-Enterprise	92,697
11	The Record – Stockton	58,888
12	San Gabriel Valley Tribune	57,558
13	The Daily Breeze	57,185
14	Modesto Bee	56,723
15	Los Angeles Daily News	56,493
16	The Press Democrat	54,000
17	Long Beach Press-Telegram	41,038
18	Inland Valley Daily Bulletin	38,286
19	San Bernardino Sun	36,076
20	The Desert Sun	30,555
21	Chico Enterprise-Record	29,000
22	Bakersfield Californian	22,000

In both 2016 and 2018, we observed that editorial endorsements (pro or con) were a leading indicator of success at the ballot.

Of the 10 measures on the 2016 ballot with a majority of editorials in favor, only one failed to pass (Prop 62, repeal death penalty); out of the seven measures with a majority of editorials against, only three passed.
Of the 11 initiatives on the 2018 ballot, each of the four measures endorsed by a majority of leading newspapers was approved by voters (Prop 1 – Housing Bond; Prop 2 – Tax Revenue for Homeless Prevention; Prop 4 – Children’s Hospital Bond; Prop 11 – Ambulance Employee Regulations). Of the seven initiatives opposed by a majority of leading newspapers, only two (Prop 7 – Repeals Daylight Savings Time and Prop 12 – Animal Space Requirements) were approved by California voters. The remaining five were defeated.
For many measures, endorsements have been lopsided – as indicated below.

2020 California Initiative Editorial Endorsement Scorecard
Proposition	Yes	No
Prop 14 (Authorizes stem cell bonds)	0	11
Prop 15 (Removes commercial, industrial and some agricultural property from Prop 13’s tax protections)	2	11
Prop 16 (Removes voter-approved prohibition on race-conscious university admissions, public hiring and contracting)	0	11
Prop 17 (Allows felony parolees to vote)	10	1
Prop 18 (Allows 17-year-olds to vote in primaries and special elections if they’ll be 18 for general elections)	1	10
Prop 19 (Allows elderly, disabled and wildfire victims to retain lower property tax rates when they change properties)	0	11
Prop 20 (Rolls back sentencing and parole reforms enacted in Props 47 and 57)	0	11
Prop 21 (Removes statewide constraints on local governments enacting rent control)	1	16
Prop 22 (Allows gig tech companies to remain as independent contractors)	11	0
Prop 23 (New regulation of kidney dialysis clinics)	0	11
Prop 24 (Expands online consumer privacy)	0	11
Prop 25 (Overturn cash bail prohibition)	11	0