# Repairing California Without Fixing the Ballot Process is Impossible

*Permalink: https://kumarletter.com/posts/repairing-california-without-fixing-the-ballot-process-is-impossible*

*Published: 2024-05-20*

![](https://a.postcard.page/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBbjEvIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--0fe4b2e77e9df8b2c07fe6b5c5d1c8ea6abda49b/IMG_4250.JPG)
_My old spot on Twin Peaks._
  
  
Over the years many of you have seen me write about how onerous pension, infrastructure, and healthcare debt per taxpayer became a [wrecking ball to humanity and particularly so for locales with a lot of it.](https://x.com/search?q=%40datarade%20pension&src=typed_query)   
  
California is a great example. Browse [CalMatters](https://calmatters.org/) and [TruthInAccounting](https://truthinaccounting.org) for endless data points.   
  
There's A TON of people in tech who want to fix California, but they've misframed the problem.   
  
I seek to suggest some simple fixes that if well aimed could wreak havoc on the doom loop maiming the quality of life with high costs and weak public services.   
  
**TLDR: To begin to fix California, you've got to at least do the following as the ante....anything else is a stopgap solution that remedies the symptom but doesn't treat the underlying cause. **  

- Raise the amount of signatures required for a ballot proposition to 10% or more of a gubernatorial election or 5% or more of a general election. [This is an issue. ](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/11/6/21549654/california-ballot-initiative-proposition-direct-democracy)
- Outlaw [paid signatures](https://ballotpedia.org/Pay-per-signature_for_ballot_initiative_signature_gatherers) being gathered by special interest groups that can lie to uninformed individuals to get their interests on the ballot.

It's damn near impossible to reverse the outcomes of a passed ballot initiative as the requirements are onerous to do so, not easy, and require significant legal meddling.   
  
The [repeal process](https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/initiative-and-referendum-processes#californiaci) is more aggressive and onerous than the process to push a ballot into place. The unit economics of this mean an infinite doom loop for the state of California.