San Diego voters weighed in Nov. 6 on a range of issues from the national presidential election to local issues that affect them at home. Ballot choices that were decided upon in California included the funding of public education, whether or not to keep the death penalty, U.S. Senators, Congress Representatives and San Diego mayor. Below is a breakdown of 2012 election results.

State Ballot Measures Results

Prop 30: Temporary Taxes to Fund Education                   PASSED
Yes – 54 percent      No – 46 percent
Result: There will be an increase on personal income tax on individuals making more than $250,000 a year for seven years. The state sales tax will also be raised a quarter of a percent for the next four years. This will prevent immediate “trigger cuts” of nearly $6 billion annually mostly from the state education budget.

Prop 31: State Budget, State and Local Government     REJECTED
Yes – 39 percent     No- 61 percent
Result: The fiscal responsibilities of the legislature and governor will not change. The state’s budgeting will not be increased from one to two years, and local governments will not receive the authority and funding from the state to administer their own local programs.

Prop 32: Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction     REJECTED
Yes – 44 percent  No – 56 percent
Result: There will be no change to the law that allows unions and corporations to automatically deduct funds from employee paychecks for political purposes. Existing campaign finance laws will remain in effect.

Prop 33: Auto Insurance Prices Based on Driver History     REJECTED
Yes – 45 percent   No – 55 percent
Result: State law will not be changed allowing insurance companies to offer a “continuous coverage” discount based on previous auto insurance coverage or increase insurance costs to drivers who have not maintained continuous coverage. Under current California law, auto insurers are only allowed to set prices based on the risk of the driver.

Prop 34: Death Penalty     REJECTED
Yes – 47 percent  No – 53 percent
Result: California will continue to have a death penalty sentence for certain offenders convicted of murder.

Prop 35: Human Trafficking     PASSED
Yes – 81 percent No – 19 percent
Result: The maximum criminal penalty for human trafficking will increase.  The potential prison sentence for those convicted of labor trafficking will increase from five to12 years. Those convicted of forcing a minor into sex trafficking could face life in prison as opposed to a previous eight year maximum sentence. Potential fines related to sex trafficking are raised to a maximum of 1.5 million dollars.

Prop 36: Three Strikes Law     PASSED
Yes – 69 percent   No – 31 percent
Result: The three strikes law will be changed so that convicts with two prior felony convictions will not be given life in prison sentences only if the third felony conviction was non-serious and non-violent.

Prop 37: Genetically Engineered Foods Labeling     REJECTED
Yes – 47 percent   No – 53 percent
Result: Food manufactures will not be required to label their products produced using genetic engineering.

Prop 38: Tax for Education. Early Childhood Programs     REJECTED
Yes – 28 percent   No – 73 percent
Result: State income tax will not be raised on individuals according to Prop 38 specifications to fund education. Since Prop 30 passed and Prop 38 did not, personal income tax rates and the sales tax rate will increase according to Prop 30 provisions.

Prop 39:   Business Tax for Energy Funding     PASSED
Yes – 60 percent   No – 40 percent
Result: Businesses that operate in multiple states will be required to calculate their income tax based on the percentage of sales completed in California. About half of the additional revenue will go to support alternative energy projects.
Prop 40:   Redistricting State Senate     PASSED
Yes – 71 percent  No – 29 percent
Result:  The new State Senate districts drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission in 2011 will continue to be in effect.

Presidential Candidate Results
Candidate              Party                              Country/ State Popular Vote Percentage        Electoral Vote
Barack Obama     Democratic Party        50.4/59.1                                                                303
Mitt Romney        Republican Party         48.1/38.6                                                               206

U.S. Senate Results
Candidate                       Party                                    Popular Vote Percentage
Dianne Feinstein         Democratic Party             61.3
Elizabeth Emken         Republican Party              38.7

 U.S. House of Representatives District 52 Results
Candidate            Party                              Popular Vote Percentage
Scott Peters         Democratic Party       50.2
Brian Bilbray      Republican Party       49.8

U.S. House of Representative District 53 Results
Candidate               Party                                Popular Vote Percentage
Susan A. Davis      Democratic Party        60.4
Nick Popaditch      Republican Party        39.6

Source: http://vote.sos.ca.gov

San Diego Mayoral Results
Candidate          Party                                  Popular Vote Percentage
Bob Filner         Democratic Party           52
Carl DeMaio     Republican Party           48
source: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov