According to the most recent reports about the number of initiatives in circulation that have qualified for the ballot and those that the state legislature is putting on the June primary ballot, currently it appears that California voters may see one of the shortest ballots in recent history. There are only two measures that are now slated for the June ballot: one sponsored by Rob Reiner that will advocate universal preschool and the other one from the legislature pushing a $600 million library bond.

There still could be at least two additional measures coming from the state legislature, one dealing with the Governor’s proposed infrastructure measures and the other possibly focused on redistricting reform. Here is what the article linked above said about the deadlines that these additional measures would need to meet to make it on the June ballot:

“While the legal deadline for initiatives is Jan. 26, we’ve sent a letter to the governor and the Legislature that indicated we’ve determined that measures approved by Feb. 16 could make the principal ballot,” said Jennifer Kerns, a spokesman for Secretary of State Bruce McPherson. “Legislative measures approved by March 10 could be on a supplemental ballot.”

I’ll have more to say soon about the redistricting measure. Here is a recent article that details the negotiations that are now going on regarding the current proposals. I was on a long conference call this morning with a number of the folks who are working on this measure, and from the information I obtained in that call, it is clear that a compromise is highly possible, though the some of the details (especially the details regarding the composition and selection of the independent redistricting commission members) are still potential sticking points.