The 2024 General Election took place on Tuesday, November 5th, with candidates and ballot initiatives at the national, statewide, and local level.
While the Jewish Center for Justice does not endorse individual candidates running for office, we did take a position on NINE propositions on the California ballot this month. Let’s review these propositions, JCJ’s positions, and the election results.
Proposition 2 (California)
- Provides funding for modernizing and building new classrooms in California
- Ensures children have safe and productive access to education
JCJ’s Position: Vote YES ✅
Jewish society and culture has long promoted the importance of education, and our tradition encourages lifelong learning and education access. Our values also inform our belief in tikkun olam, or the pursuit to repair the world.
Result: Passed ✅
Background: California Proposition 2, Public Education Facilities Bond Measure (2024)
Proposition 3 (California)
- Abolishes the current clause in the California constitution which “limits marriage to a man and a woman.”
- Makes additional amendments to the California constitution to protect same sex marriage
JCJ’s Position: Vote YES ✅
Judaism — like many other faith traditions — teaches that all human beings are created in the image of God. We therefore emphatically reject attempts by those who invoke religion as a shield for discrimination.
The Jewish Center for Justice supports efforts at every level of government to root out discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans, including fighting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and updating the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Result: Passed ✅
Background: California Proposition 3, Right to Marry and Repeal Proposition 8 Amendment (2024)
Proposition 4 (California)
- Supports projects related to wildfire and forest resilience, coastal protection, extreme heat, safe drinking water, and more.
- Strengthens California’s infrastructure to better handle the effects of climate change and promote cleaner environmental practices.
- Outline how taxpayer money will be used responsibly for these environmental and public health projects.
JCJ’s Position: Vote YES ✅
From the Garden of Eden to the laws of war and peace, the Jewish tradition calls us to act as stewards of the earth and its environment. Today, that moral mandate demands urgent and bold action. We support efforts at every level of government to combat the negative impacts of climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in alternative energy sources, and protect vulnerable populations most affected by environmental injustices.
Result: Passed ✅
Background: California Proposition 4, Parks, Environment, Energy, and Water Bond Measure (2024)
Proposition 5 (California)
- Lowers the threshold for the passing of local jurisdiction bonds funding affordable housing and certain public infrastructure projects from 66.67 to 55 percent.
- Requires local governments to closely monitor the use of bond funds supporting housing assistance and public infrastructure.
JCJ’s Position: Vote YES ✅
The Torah commands that, “There shall be no needy among you…” (Duet 15:4), and “If…there is a needy person among you … do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kin…rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient to meet the need” (Duet 15:7-8). As Jews, we have an obligation to alleviate poverty, a fight which requires the building of affordable housing and public infrastructure.
Result: Passed ✅
Proposition 6 (California)
- Amends the California constitution by disallowing all forms of involuntary servitude, even for those who have committed a crime and/or are incarcerated.
- Stops the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from punishing inmates for refusing an assignment.
- Allows the CDCR to reward those who take assignments by giving time credits for work.
JCJ’s Position: Vote YES ✅
Jewish law places a high premium on justice — but at the center of this ethic are the values of compassion, forgiveness, and the capacity to repent. We support efforts to build an American justice system that honors rehabilitation and creates pathways for acceptance and reintegration back into society. This includes legislation to address the legacies of slavery and inequality, eliminate mandatory minimums, reduce the U.S. prison population, and establish common-sense restorative justice programs across America.
Enforcing involuntary servitude or punishing inmates who refuse a job that makes them uncomfortable is an abuse of power that should be outlawed. Additionally, including a reward system for the work that is done in incarceration will create a more healthy system for inmates that will encourage real rehabilitation and growth.
Result: Rejected ❌
Background: California Proposition 6, Remove Involuntary Servitude as Punishment for Crime Amendment (2024)
Proposition 32 (California)
- Expands pay for all minimum wage workers.
- Increases the hourly wage (up to $20) for certain minimum wage employees that work in a restaurant.
JCJ’s Position: Vote YES ✅
In a just and equitable society, no one should lack basic necessities — and everyone should be able to thrive.
The Jewish tradition commands us to “open your hand to your fellows, your poor, and your needy in your land” — a charge taken up by Jews in every generation, and in every place we have called home. We support efforts at every level of government to shrink the income and wealth gaps, root out hunger, deliver free or affordable healthcare to all, and decrease the cost of living a full and prosperous life.
Result: Rejected ❌
Background: California Proposition 32, $18 Minimum Wage Initiative (2024)
Proposition 33 (California)
- Gives local governments more power to enact rent control to protect California’s tenants
- Repeals the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995 that doesn’t allow rent control on single family homes or homes that were only occupied after February of 1995 and prohibits vacancy control, which makes sure that rent stabilization stays in place even when tenant turnover occurs.
JCJ’s Position: Vote YES ✅
Many Jewish sources describe housing as one of the obligatory forms of tzedakah. With housing prices rising while wages remain stagnant, we have an obligation to fight for policies that make housing more affordable.
As of 2021, 41% of California renters are being cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. If passed, the burden of rent on tenants would be limited and it would be more difficult for landlords to take advantage of their tenants.
Result: Rejected ❌
Background: California Proposition 33, Prohibit State Limitations on Local Rent Control Initiative (2024)
Proposition 35 (California)
- Provides access to health care to low-income individuals by taxing insurance companies instead of the individual, lowering drug costs, and expanding medical education to create more healthcare professionals.
- Secures the Medi-Cal investment agreed to in 2023.
JCJ’s Position: Vote YES ✅
Jewish halakha informs our belief in Pikuach Nefesh — to save one life is to save the entire world. This is the most important mitzvah in the Jewish tradition. Accessible health care, lower drug costs, and more healthcare jobs are all measures that would save many lives.
Result: Passed ✅
Background: California Proposition 35, Managed Care Organization Tax Authorization Initiative (2024)
Proposition 36 (California)
- Classifies certain drug offenses as treatment mandated felonies rather than misdemeanors and increase prison sentences for those offenses.
- Increases sentence length for theft related crimes.
JCJ’s Position: Vote NO ❌
Tikkun Olam — repairing the world — is one of Judaism’s core values. To do so, we have to allow for proper rehabilitation and give those who have made mistakes opportunities for a second chance.
Incarcerating those who are suffering from the disease of drug addiction will not solve issues of crime or poverty. Instead of accomplishing its desired goal of reducing drug use and homelessness in California, Proposition 36 is an expensive measure that would take funding away from drug-treatment programs and K-12 education.
Result: Passed ✅
Background: California Proposition 36, Drug and Theft Crime Penalties and Treatment-Mandated Felonies Initiative (2024)