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Proposition 8 was a California State ballot proposition that amended the state Constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. It overrode a recent California Supreme Court decision that had recognized same-sex marriage in California as a fundamental right. The official ballot title language for Proposition 8 is "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry." The entirety of the text to be added to the constitution was: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

The campaigns for and against Proposition 8 raised $35.8 million and $37.6 million, respectively, becoming the highest-funded campaign on any state ballot that day and surpassing every campaign in the country in spending except the presidential contest. The proponents argued for exclusively heterosexual marriage while claiming that failure to change the constitution would require changes to school curriculum and threaten church tax benefits. The opponents argued that eliminating the rights of any Californian and mandating that one group of people be treated differently from everyone else was unfair and wrong.

Results

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (November 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The California Secretary of State will publish the official final election results on December 9, 2008.

Proposition 8 (as of November 13, 2008, 10:10 pm PST)
		Votes	Percentage
Yes		6,156,848	52.2%
No		5,646,170	47.8%
Blank votes		256,868	N/A
Total votes cast and counted		12,059,886	100.00%
Voter turnout		68.6%
Uncounted vote-by-mail and provisional ballots		1,832,394	13%

A simple majority of votes cast is required to enact a constitutional amendment.

The "Yes on 8" campaign declared victory on the evening of November 4. Ron Prentice, the chairman of ProtectMarriage.com issued a statement saying, "The people of California stood up for traditional marriage and reclaimed this great institution." The organizers of the "No on Prop 8" campaign conceded defeat on November 6, issuing a statement saying, "Tuesday’s vote was deeply disappointing to all who believe in equal treatment under the law".

Demographics

African American voters' support for the measure was important to the outcome. An exit poll showed that black voters sided in favor of the measure by a ratio of more than 2 to 1. Further, black turnout, spurred by Barack Obama's campaign for president, was unusually large, making up roughly 10% of the voters.

Churchgoers' support for the measure was also important to the outcome. An exit poll showed that regular churchgoers sided in favor of the measure by a ratio of more than 4 to 1. Furthermore, regular churchgoers made up nearly one-quarter of the voters.

Republican party members' support for the measure was still more important to the outcome. An exit poll showed that Republican party members sided in favor of the measure by a ratio of more than 4 to 1. Furthermore, Republican party members made up nearly a third of the voters. Bush supporters' support for the measure was also important to the outcome. An exit poll showed that of the one-fifth of voters who approve of Bush, 86% voted in favor of the measure.

Uncertainty and challenges

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (November 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Before the election some California county clerks announced that because it usually takes a month for election results to be certified as final, they did not plan to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples until they were directed by the state health department, which oversees marriage records. However, many counties, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Yolo, Kern, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Sonoma, San Diego, San Bernardino, Sacramento, and Tuolumne, stopped issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on November 5, 2008, the day after the election. County officials who inquired with the Attorney General's office about how to handle the situation were told to ask the state's 58 county attorneys. The California Association of Clerks and Election Officials has told its members to suspend all gay marriages, unless they receive different advice from a state agency or the final tally of votes shows that the proposition failed.

Another pending legal issue is whether approximately 18,000 same-sex marriages already in effect would be retroactively annulled by the constitutional change, or whether they would be preserved. California Attorney General Jerry Brown said that existing same-sex marriages would be unaffected, but other legal experts have said challenges are likely. The 14-word constitutional amendment does not state explicitly that it would nullify same-sex marriages performed before the Nov. 4 election, although proponents say it will.

On November 5, 2008, three lawsuits were filed, challenging the validity of Proposition 8 on the grounds that revoking the right of same sex couples to marry was a constitutional "revision" rather than an "amendment", and therefore required the prior approval of 2/3 of each house of the California State Legislature. Plaintiffs in the various suits included same-sex couples who had married or planned to marry in the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles and the county of Santa Clara. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has voted to join the lawsuit filed by the City of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Clara County challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8. Claims made on similar grounds with respect to other constitutional changes have in some cases taken years to be adjudicated, and almost all have failed.

More than one-third of California's lawmakers, forty-four members of the California Legislature, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of one of the three lawsuits seeking to invalidate Proposition 8. The brief argues that the same-sex marriage ban improperly usurped the state Supreme Court's duty to protect minority groups from discrimination. The Anti-Defamation League, the Bar Association of San Francisco and three other legal or civil rights groups also submitted letters supporting efforts to get the court to delay implementation of Proposition 8.

The Campaign for California Families, a conservative religious organization, asked the court for permission to become an official party to all three cases, which currently name only the state health department and Attorney General Jerry Brown as respondents. The Campaign for California Families unsuccessfully sought to get a same-sex marriage ban on the November ballot that also would have stripped same-sex couples of domestic partner benefits. The Campaign for California Families, represented by Florida based Liberty Counsel, said in its motion to intervene that state officials would not adequately defend the rights of voters. ProtectMarriage.com, has also said it will also seek to intervene.

On November 13, 2008, the California Supreme Court asked state Attorney General Jerry Brown to reply by November 17, 2008, to lawsuits challenging the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. The filing the court requested from the Attorney General will not address the ballot measure's validity, but will focus on whether the justices should accept the suits for review and whether Proposition 8 should be suspended while they decide the case, said Christopher Krueger, a senior assistant attorney general.

Following the passing of Proposition 8, mass protests took place across the state. Santa Monica Boulevard was closed as 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Los Angeles Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Westwood; the LDS (Mormon) Church was a proponent of the proposition. Additionally, demonstrators marched through Hollywood, blocking traffic and forcing police intervention. In Sacramento, the state's capital, nearly one thousand protesters peacefully gathered for a candlelight vigil in front of the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center. 300 more marched through the streets with protest signs. In San Francisco, thousands gathered in front of the City Hall to protest the proposition and to perform a candlelit vigil. Speakers who voiced their opinion in opposition of Proposition 8 included state senator Mark Leno and mayor Gavin Newsom. In addition to the protests at the Los Angeles Temple, protests were also held outside the several other California LDS Temples, including the San Diego Temple and the Oakland Temple.

Outside California, thousands of Utah protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. Prior to marching around the church office buildings and Temple Square, demonstrators gathered in downtown City Creek Park to hear remarks from local gay rights supporters including former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and three openly gay members of the Utah Legislature: Senator Scott McCoy and Representatives Christine Johnson and Jackie Biskupski. On November 12th, 2008, more than 10,000 protesters gathered outside the Manhattan New York Temple to protest the Mormon church's support of Proposition 8.

The Los Angeles Times reported that "The odds are strongly against the uncounted ballots being so dramatically different from the ones counted." The margin between those who approved and those who voted against Proposition 8 was slightly more than half a million votes. To reverse the reported results, opponents would have to win more than 59% of the votes not yet tallied. Thus far, they have won only 47.6% of the vote. Thus it is extremely unlikely that the remaining votes could shift the outcome. By comparison, the Los Angeles Times did not call the outcome of Proposition 11 (2008) which has only a 133,952-vote margin of victory. Gay media also reported that the outcome was unlikely to change given that most of the outstanding ballots "are from areas of the state with lower support for marriage equality."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed hope that the California Supreme Court would overturn Proposition 8. He urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that were too heavy for him at first, "I learned that you should never ever give up. . . . They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done." He also predicted that the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who have already wed would not see their marriages nullified by the initiative.

History of the ballot initiative

In order to qualify for the ballot, Proposition 8 needed 694,354 valid petition signatures, equal to 8% of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2006 General Election. The initiative proponents submitted 1,120,801 signatures, and on June 2, 2008, the initiative qualified for the November 4, 2008 election ballot through the random sample signature check.

The ballot measure was an amendment that would override portions of the ruling of In re Marriage Cases. The Constitution, as proposed by the measure, would include a new section (Section 7.5) to Article I, placing it between the state Equal Protection clause and nondiscrimination in business and the professions. The new section reads:

Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

California's State Constitution puts the measure into immediate effect on November 5, the day after the election.

Changes to ballot title and summary

The measure was originally submitted for the ballot by petitioners with the title "California Marriage Protection Act."

In November 2007, California Attorney General Jerry Brown prepared the title and summary for the signature-gathering petition designating the initiative "Limit on Marriage. Constitutional Amendment".

After the measure qualified for the general election the Attorney General revised the title to read: "Eliminates Rights of Same-Sex Couples to Marry. Initiative Constitutional Amendment", and rewrote the summary to say that it "Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California". The Attorney General explained that the change was in response to the state supreme court ruling and to more "accurately reflect the measure." In rejecting a challenge to the change the Superior Court of California ruled that the change was valid because it did in fact eliminate a right that the California Supreme court had upheld.

Early legal challenges

On July 16, 2008, the California Supreme Court denied, without comment, a petition calling for the removal of Proposition 8 from the November ballot on the grounds it was a constitutional revision that only the Legislature or a constitutional convention could place before voters. Opponents also argued that the petitions circulated to qualify the measure for the ballot inaccurately summarized its effect. The court denied the petition without comment. As a general rule, it is improper for courts to adjudicate pre-election challenges to a measure's substantive validity. (Costa v. Superior Court (2006) 37 Cal.4th 986, 1005-1006.) The question of whether Proposition 8 is a constitutional amendment or constitutional revision remains unresolved, and a new petition arguing that Proposition 8 is a revision was filed by civil rights groups on November 5, 2008.

On July 22, 2008, Proposition 8 supporters mounted a legal challenge to the revised ballot title and summary, contending that Attorney General Brown had inserted "inflammatory" language that would "unduly prejudice voters against" Proposition 8. Supporters claimed that research showed that an attorney general had never used an active verb like “eliminates” in the title of a ballot measure in the past fifty years in which ballot measures have been used. Representatives of the Attorney General produced twelve examples of ballot measures using the word "eliminates" and vouched for the neutrality and accuracy of the ballot language.

On August 8, 2008, the California Superior Court turned down the legal challenge, affirming the new title and summary, stating, "he title and summary is not false or misleading because it states that Proposition 8 would 'eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry' in California. The California Supreme Court unequivocally held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the California Constitution." That same day, proponents of Prop. 8 filed an emergency appeal with the state appeals court. The Court of Appeal denied their petition later that day and supporters did not seek a review by the Supreme Court of California. The deadline for court action on the wording of ballot summaries and arguments in the voter pamphlet was August 11.

While turning down the challenge to the title and summary, the California Superior Court also found that the Yes on 8 campaign had overstated its ballot argument on the measure's impact on public schools and ordered a minor change in wording. The original arguments included a claim that the Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage requires teachers to tell their students, as young as kindergarten age, that same-sex marriage is the same as opposite-sex marriage. The court said the Yes on 8 argument was false because instruction on marriage is not required and parents can withdraw their children. The court said the ballot argument could be preserved by rewording it to state that teachers "may" or "could" be required to tell children there is no difference between same-sex and opposite-sex marriage.

Campaign Contributors

Campaign spending

By Election Day, volunteers on both sides spent thousands of hours getting their messages across to the state's 17.3 million registered voters. The campaigns for and against Proposition 8 raised $35.8 million and $37.6 million, respectively. Contributions totaled over $73 million with campaign contributions from over 64,000 people in all fifty states and more than twenty foreign countries, setting a new record nationally for a social policy initiative and trumping every other race in the country in spending except the presidential contest. Contributions were much greater than those of previous same-sex marriage initiatives. Between 2004 and 2006, 22 such measures were on ballots around the country, and donations to all of them combined totaled $31.4 million, according to the nonpartisan National Institute on Money in State Politics.

Proponents

The ProtectMarriage.com organization sponsored the initiative that placed Proposition 8 on the ballot and continues to support the measure.

Republican presidential nominee and U.S. Senator John McCain released a statement of support for the proposed constitutional amendment. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich released a video in support. Both characterized the court ruling as being against the will of the people. Other notable supporters include Republican State Senator Tom McClintock and 20 other Republican State Senators and Assemblymembers.

Religious organizations that supported Proposition 8 include the Roman Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a group of Evangelical Christians led by Jim Garlow and Miles McPherson, American Family Association, Focus on the Familyand the National Organization for Marriage. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, California's largest, also endorsed the measure. The Bishops of the California Catholic Conference released a statement supporting the proposition. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) publicly supported the proposition and encouraged their membership to donate money and volunteer time. The First Presidency of the church announced its support for Proposition 8 in a letter read in every congregation. Latter-day Saints provided a significant source for financial donations in support of the proposition, both inside and outside the State of California. About 45% of out-of-state contributions to ProtectMarriage.com came from Utah, over three times more than any other state.

The Grossmont Union High School District in San Diego County, California publicly voted on a resolution endorsing Proposition 8. The Governing Board voted 4-0 to endorse the amendment of the California State Constitution.

The Asian Heritage Coalition held a rally in support of Proposition 8 in downtown San Diego on October 19, 2008.

Opponents

Equality for All was the lead organization opposed to Proposition 8. They also ran the NoOnProp8.com campaign.

While a Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Senator, Barack Obama stated that he personally considers marriage to be between a man and woman, and supports civil unions that confer comparable rights rather than gay marriage, he stated that he opposed the proposition and other attempts to amend the federal and state constitutions. Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joseph Biden opposed the proposition. Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that although he opposed and twice vetoed legislative bills that would recognize same sex marriage in California, he respects and will uphold the court's ruling and opposes the initiative and other attempts to amend the state's constitution. The U.S. House Speaker, California Representative (8th District), Nancy Pelosi along with twenty other members of the 53 member California congressional delegation and both of California's U.S. senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, voiced their opposition to Proposition 8, as did the Lieutenant Governor, State Controller, 42 of 80 members of the state assembly, 20 of the 40 state senators and the mayors of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego: Gavin Newsom, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Jerry Sanders respectively. The nonpartisan League of Women Voters of California opposes Proposition 8 because "no person or group should suffer legal, economic or administrative discrimination."

All ten of the state's largest newspapers editorialized against Proposition 8: the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Diego Union-Tribune, The Orange County Register, The Sacramento Bee, the San Jose Mercury News, the Contra Costa Times, The Press-Enterprise (Riverside-San Bernardino), The Fresno Bee, and the Daily News (Los Angeles). Other papers to have editorialized in opposition include The New York Times, La Opinión (Los Angeles), and The Bakersfield Californian.

A coalition of Silicon Valley executives urged a 'No' vote on Proposition 8. Google officially opposed Proposition 8 "as an issue of equality." Apple Inc. also opposed Proposition 8 as a "fundamental" civil rights issue, and donated $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Biotech leaders warned of potential damage to the state's $73 billion industry, citing Massachusetts as a top competitor for employees.

All six Episcopal diocesan bishops in California jointly issued a statement opposing Proposition 8 on September 10, 2008. Southern California's largest collection of rabbis, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, voted to oppose Proposition 8. Other Jewish groups who opposed Proposition 8 include Jewish Mosaic, the American Jewish Committee, Progressive Jewish Alliance, National Council of Jewish Women, and the Anti-Defamation League. Los Angeles Jews were more opposed to Prop 8 than any other religious group or ethnic group in the city. Jewish Angelinos voted 78 percent against the ban while only 8 percent supported the ban; the remainder declined to respond.

The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously for a resolution to oppose Proposition 8. The California Teachers Association donated one million dollars to fight Proposition 8. Chancellor Robert Birgeneau of UC Berkeley urged a vote against the measure, claiming a likely threat to California's academic competitiveness if Proposition 8 is passed.

Many members of the entertainment industry were opposed to Proposition 8.

Protectmarriage.com letter to Equality California donors

The Associated Press reported that on October 22, a contributor that had raised money to oppose Proposition 8 received a letter from ProtectMarriage.com. The letter stated that "Equality California is advertising on its website that it has received a contribution of at least $10,000..." from the contributor. The letter stated that "many more of your clients support traditional marriage than support same sex marriage," requested that the contributor withdraw its support of Equality California," and requested a donation "of like amount to ProtectMarriage.com." The letter also stated:

Were you to elect not to donate comparably, it would be a clear indication that you are in opposition to traditional marriage. You would leave us no other reasonable assumption. The names of any companies and organizations that choose not to donate in like manner to ProtectMarriage.com but have given to Equality California will be published. It is only fair for Proposition 8 supporters to know which companies and organizations oppose traditional marriage.

The letter was signed by Ron Prentice, the campaign chairman for Yes on Prop 8; Edward Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference; Mark Jansson, an executive committee member of ProtectMarriage.com; and Andrew Pugno, general counsel for ProtectMarriage.com.

When asked whether ProtectMarriage.com planned to name businesses that have supported the No on 8 campaign, Prentice initially said he was unaware of any such effort. "I'm not familiar of any organized attack against organizations that have given to No on 8," he said. But when asked about the letters, Prentice confirmed they were authentic. He said that, "it was his understanding it was intended for large corporations..." and that "I think the IDing of, or outing of, any company is very secondary to the question of why especially a public corporation would choose to take a side knowing it would splinter its own clientele." A ProtectMarriage.com spokeswoman estimated that 36 companies were targeted for the letter.

The executive director of Equality California, Geoffrey Kors, said that two other business owners had also received the letter. He added, "It's truly an outrageous attempt to extort people," and "they are going after our long-term funding and trying to intimidate Equality California donors from giving any more to the No on 8 campaign and from giving to Equality California ever again."

Robert Stern, president of the nonpartisan Center for Governmental Studies said, "While corporations often give to rival candidates for public office as a way of preserving their government access no matter who wins, tit-for-tat solicitations are almost unheard of in ballot initiative campaigns." Stern added that, while uncommon, "there was nothing illegal about ProtectMarriage.com hitting up Equality California supporters for money."

Proposition 8 Backlash

Envelopes containing a suspicious white powder were mailed to two LDS temples and a Catholic fraternity, prompting a hazardous materials response and a federal investigation into who is behind it. The white powder scares were reported on November 13, 2008 at Salt Lake City's Temple Square, an LDS temple in Los Angeles and at a printing plant belonging to the Knights of Columbus (a Roman Catholic fraternity) in New Haven, Connecticut. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Knights of Columbus were both major backers of Proposition 8. In addition, the LDS Church has been a subject of mass protests due to their backing of Proposition 8, with major demonstrations against the Church recently held outside the same temples which received envelopes with the suspicious white powder. However, the FBI cautioned late Thursday there is no evidence to link the threats to Prop. 8 opponents.

Ten LDS church buildings in the Sacramento region, and seven houses of worship in Utah, were vandalized in the ten days following the November 4 election, more than that expected for an entire year. The FBI is investigating whether civil rights charges can be brought against the perpetrators.

Opinion polls

According to the director of The Field Poll, the discrepancy between the pre-election polls and ballot results is because "regular church-goers ... were more prone than other voters to be influenced by last-minute appeals to conform to orthodox church positions when voting on a progressive social issue like same-sex marriage."

See also

• Arizona Proposition 102 (2008)
• Briggs Initiative
• California state elections, November 2008
• Florida Amendment 2 (2008)
• Same-sex marriage in California

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External links

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• California Official Voter Information Guide on Proposition 8, Title and summary, analysis, arguments and rebuttals, and the text of the proposition.
• ProtectMarriage.com, organizational sponsor of Proposition 8
• No On Prop. 8, official website against Proposition 8
• Scan of Initiative from California Attorney General website
• In re Marriages The full text of In re Marriage Cases, the decision from the California Supreme Court, May 15, 2008
• REPLY Reply brief in Bennett v. Bowen (Hollingsworth) S165420
• Official Proposition 8 Campaign Finance The official source from the California Secretary of State
• Proposition 8 Support and Opposition Financial Contributions
• Tracking the money

• Current events from November 2008
• California ballot propositions, 2008
• Discrimination in the United States
• LGBT law in the United States
• LGBT rights in California
• Same-sex marriage in the United States