Good-government efforts previously approved by California voters face increasing scrutiny. Above, a voter enters a polling station at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena on Nov. 4, 2025. (Mario Tama / Getty Images) California’s good-government experiments — independent redistricting and the top-two “jungle” primary — face rollbacks as voters, parties and strategists move to reinstate gerrymandering and to scrap the primary system. Once hailed as a model for curbing the

Welcome to CalMatters, the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering statewide issues that affect all Californians. Sign up for WeeklyMatters for a Saturday morning digest of the latest news and commentary from the Golden State. This story is part of California Voices, a commentary forum aiming to broaden our understanding of the state and spotlight Californians directly impacted by policy or its absence. Learn more here. Guest Commentary written by Cathy Cockrum Dea

TL;DR Los Angeles has poured billions into homelessness programs —Prop HHH, Measure ULA, Inside Safe, LAHSA—and a federal audit found the city “doesn’t know how much it is paying, and for what,” with nearly zero financial oversight anywhere in the chain. Now homelessness in the city is rising again, and the pattern underneath every failure is the same: money moves, programs run, and no one’s job ever depends on whether people actually get off the street. For two years, Mayor

Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. announced that an initiative became eligible for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot on June 23, 2026. In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 874,641 valid petition signatures, which is equal to eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 General Election. A measure can become eligible via random sampling of petition signatures if the

Sacramento, CA - The Transparency Act Campaign - a coalition of good government groups, small businesses, community advocates, accountants and auditing experts - announced they will submit the necessary number of signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2026 ballot later this week. The “Improving Transparency, Effectiveness and Efficiency in California Government Act” - also known as the Transparency Act - will help put an end to wasteful government spending and en