California may be known as a deep-blue state, but the political reality is far more complex. In the season finale of California Ballot Breakdown, Ethan Ty unpacks the surprising red-blue divide across the state and what it reveals about how Californians vote.
Drawing from data by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the Learning Policy Institute, SPUR, the California Secretary of State , and BRG (Berkeley Research Group). Ty explores how local control, demographic shifts, and voter turnout patterns contribute to a patchwork of ideologies from liberal coastal cities to conservative strongholds in the Central Valley and Inland Empire.
This episode also examines how California ballot propositions often reflect these contradictions. Measures on taxation, criminal justice, and education don’t always break down along expected party lines, showing how issues like property taxes or affirmative action can generate surprising coalitions of support and opposition.
Music: ‘44th Street’ by Apple Inc., from the iMovie music library.
