If the past is any guide, the $5.5 billion ballot measure to rescue the state of California's stem cell program from financial extinction is likely to win approval today from voters.
Golden State voters have been generous with bond measures since 1986, approving them more than a majority of the time in statewide elections.
According to figures compiled by the state's Legislative Analyst, 67 bond measures on statewide ballots have been approved in the last 34 years. Twenty-seven were rejected.
That said, considerable caveats abound. These are not ordinary times.
The state is reeling from wildfires, severe economic disruption, Covid-19, overstretched local and state budgets not to mention pandemic fatigue.
And just how all that will translate to action on Proposition 14, the stem cell ballot initiative is unclear. No polls have been published on the measure, which has been eclipsed by much higher profile measures, not to mention the presidential race.
But it could well be that the public wants more certainty in terms of medical care and cures, which the backers of Proposition 14 promise.
"Proposition 14 continues vital funding to find treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases and conditions that affect someone in nearly half of all California families – such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes," says the campaign website.
"Stem cell research is restoring health and improving lives in California," the site says.
Oddly enough the heavy promotion in past years of snake-oil "stem cell" therapies may well benefit the measure. Everybody loves miracles. And significant segments of the public do not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate medical claims.
That said, it could cut the other way as well, with some voters thinking Proposition 14 is a close cousin of the rogue "stem cell" clinics, which number in the hundreds across California and are almost totally unregulated.
Election results are likely to be slow to surface this evening after polls close at 8 p.m. PDT. The mainstream media will be focused on other races that will go unmentioned here. The California Stem Cell Report, however, will be digging into the returns most of the evening and will bring Proposition 14 results to you right here on this site both tonight and again tomorrow morning.
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