California

===Ideology===
{{Main |Politics of California|Elections in California}}
{{see also|Politics of California before 1900|Political party strength in California}}
{|class="wikitable floatright"
|+California registered voters {{as of|2024|01|05|lc=y|df=US}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=pdf Report of Registration as of January 5, 2024 Registration by County |url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ror/60day-presprim-2024/complete-ror.pdf |access-date=February 26, 2024}}</ref>
|-
! colspan=2 |Party
! Number of voters
! Percentage
|rowspan="10" style="font-size:small" |[[File:California party registration by county.svg|160px]]
Party registration by county{{break}}(October 2022):
{{legend|#d3e7ff|Democrat ≥ 30%}}
{{legend|#b9d7ff|Democrat ≥ 40%}}
{{legend|#86b6f2|Democrat ≥ 50%}}
{{legend|#ffccd0|Republican ≥ 30%}}
{{legend|#f2b3be|Republican ≥ 40%}}
{{legend|#e27f90|Republican ≥ 50%}}
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
|[[California Democratic Party|Democratic]]
|style="text-align:center;" |10,323,214
|style="text-align:center;" |46.76%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
|[[California Republican Party|Republican]]
|style="text-align:center;" |5,332,858
|style="text-align:center;" |24.16%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent (United States)}}
|[[Independent politician (United States)|No Party Preference]]
|style="text-align:center;" |4,845,113
|style="text-align:center;" |21.95%
|-
| {{party color cell|American Independent Party}}
|[[American Independent Party|American Independent]]
|style="text-align:center;" |835,277
|style="text-align:center;" |3.78%
|-
| {{party color cell|Libertarian Party (United States)}}
|[[Libertarian Party of California|Libertarian]]
|style="text-align:center;" |242,770
|style="text-align:center;" |1.10%
|-
| {{party color cell|Peace and Freedom Party}}
|[[Peace and Freedom Party|Peace and Freedom]]
|style="text-align:center;" |133,914
|style="text-align:center;" |0.61%
|-
| {{party color cell|Green Party (United States)}}
|[[Green Party of California|Green]]
|style="text-align:center;" |102,599
|style="text-align:center;" |0.46%
|-
|colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |Other
|style="text-align:center;" |261,667
|style="text-align:center;" |1.19%
|-
! colspan=2 |Total
! style="text-align:center;" |22,077,412
! style="text-align:center;" |100%
|}

California has an idiosyncratic political culture compared to the rest of the country, and is sometimes regarded as a trendsetter.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 30, 2006 |title=California Is a Political Trendsetter |work=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/30/eveningnews/main2138297.shtml |access-date=February 22, 2011}}</ref> In socio-cultural mores and national politics, Californians are perceived as more [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] than other Americans, especially those who live in the inland states. In the [[2016 United States presidential election]], California had the third highest percentage of Democratic votes behind [[Washington, D.C.|the District of Columbia]] and [[Hawaii]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2016&off=0&elect=0&f=0|title=2016 Presidential General Election Results}}</ref> In the [[2020 United States presidential election#Results by state|2020 United States presidential election]], it had the 6th highest behind the District of Columbia, [[Vermont]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Maryland]], and Hawaii. According to the Cook Political Report, California contains five of the 15 most Democratic congressional districts in the United States.

Among the political idiosyncrasies, California was the second state [[California gubernatorial recall election, 2003|to recall their state governor]] (the first state being [[North Dakota]] in [[1921 North Dakota gubernatorial recall election|1921]]), the second state to legalize abortion, and the only state to ban marriage for gay couples twice by vote (including [[California Proposition 8|Proposition{{spaces}}8]] in 2008). Voters also passed [[California Proposition 71 (2004)|Proposition 71 in 2004]] to fund [[stem cell]] research, making California the [[Stem cell laws and policy in the United States#Legalization and funding|second state to legalize stem cell research]] after [[New Jersey]], and [[California Proposition 14 (2010)|Proposition 14 in 2010]] to completely change the state's [[primary election]] process. California has also experienced [[California Water Wars|disputes over water rights]]; and a [[tax revolt]], culminating with the passage of [[California Proposition 13 (1978)|Proposition 13 in 1978]], limiting state [[property tax]]es. California voters have rejected [[affirmative action]] on multiple occasions, most recently in November 2020.

The state's trend towards the [[California Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] and away from the [[California Republican Party|Republican Party]] can be seen in state elections. From 1899 to 1939, California had Republican governors. Since 1990, California has generally elected Democratic candidates to federal, state and local offices, including current Governor [[Gavin Newsom]]; however, the state has elected Republican Governors, though many of its Republican Governors, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, tend to be considered moderate Republicans and more [[Centrism|centrist]] than the national party.

[[File:Code Pink and pro-Marine protesters.jpg|thumb|left|[[Anti-war movement|Anti-war]] protesters and pro-military counterprotesters in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] (2008)]]
Several political movements have advocated for [[Partition and secession in California|California independence]]. The [[California National Party]] and the [[California Freedom Coalition]] both advocate for California independence along the lines of [[Progressivism in the United States|progressivism]] and [[civic nationalism]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jim Miller |title=California could see new political party with independence goal |url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article54004530.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308223549/http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article54004530.html |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |access-date=March 19, 2016 |website=[[Sacramento Bee]]}}</ref> The [[Yes California]] movement attempted to organize an independence referendum via [[ballot initiative]] for 2019, which was then postponed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tech Insider |date=November 9, 2016 |title=What is 'Calexit' and how can California secede from the US? |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/calexit-explainer-california-plans-to-secede-2016-11 |access-date=March 31, 2017 |website=Business Insider}}</ref>

The Democrats also now hold a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature. There are 62 Democrats and 18 Republicans in the Assembly; and 32 Democrats and 8 Republicans in the Senate.

The trend towards the Democratic Party is most obvious in presidential elections. From [[1952 United States presidential election|1952]] through [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]], California was a Republican leaning state, with the party carrying the state's electoral votes in nine of ten elections, with [[1964 United States presidential election|1964]] as the exception. Southern California Republicans [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Ronald Reagan]] were both elected twice as the 37th and 40th U.S. Presidents, respectively. However, Democrats have won all of California's electoral votes for the last eight elections,<!--8 thru 2020--> starting in [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]].

In the United States House, the Democrats held a 34–19 edge in the CA delegation of the [[110th United States Congress]] in 2007. As the result of [[gerrymandering]], the districts in California were usually dominated by one or the other party, and few districts were considered competitive. In 2008, Californians passed Proposition 20 to empower a 14-member independent citizen commission to redraw districts for both local politicians and Congress. After the 2012 elections, when the new system took effect, Democrats gained four seats and held a 38–15 majority in the delegation. Following the [[2018 United States House of Representatives elections|2018 midterm House elections]], Democrats won 46 out of 53 congressional house seats in California, leaving Republicans with seven.
[[File:Protest at Los Angeles City Hall (6248466227).jpg|thumb|right|[[Occupy Los Angeles]] movement (2011)]]
In general, Democratic strength is centered in the populous [[Coastal California|coastal regions]] of the [[Los Angeles metropolitan area]] and the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]. Republican strength is still greatest in eastern parts of the state. [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] had remained largely Republican until the 2016 and 2018 elections, in which a majority of the county's votes were cast for Democratic candidates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2016 Presidential General Election |url=http://www.ocvote.com/fileadmin/live/gen2016/results.htm |access-date=November 10, 2016 |website=Ocvote.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Thornton |first=Paul |date=November 10, 2018 |title=RIP Republican Orange County |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://latimes.com/la-ol-opinion-newsletter-midterm-election-20181110-htmlstory.html}}</ref> One study ranked [[Berkeley California|Berkeley]], [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], [[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]] and [[San Francisco]] in the top 20 most liberal American cities; and [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]], [[Orange, California|Orange]], [[Escondido, California|Escondido]], [[Garden Grove, California|Garden Grove]], and [[Simi Valley, California|Simi Valley]] in the top 20 most conservative cities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 16, 2005 |title=Study Ranks America's Most Liberal and Conservative Cities |url=http://govpro.com/content/gov_imp_31439/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501140306/http://govpro.com/content/gov_imp_31439/index.html |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |access-date=February 20, 2011 |publisher=Bay Area Center for Voting Research}}</ref>

In October 2022, out of the 26,876,800 people eligible to vote, 21,940,274 people were registered to vote.<ref name="SoS2022GenVotRegStats">{{Cite web |date=October 24, 2022 |title=Voter Registration by County |url=https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/report-registration/15day-general-2022 |access-date=February 15, 2023 |website=Elections |publisher=California Secretary of State}}</ref> Of the people registered, the three largest registered groups were Democrats (10,283,258), Republicans (5,232,094), and [[Independent voter|No Party Preference]] (4,943,696).<ref name="SoS2022GenVotRegStats" /> [[Los Angeles County]] had the largest number of registered Democrats (2,996,565) and Republicans (958,851) of any county in the state.<ref name="SoS2022GenVotRegStats" />

California retains the [[Death penalty in California|death penalty]], though it has not been used since 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/2023/01/13/1148846720/california-says-it-will-dismantle-death-row-the-move-brings-cheers-and-anger#:~:text=Technically%2C%20the%20death%20penalty%20still,the%20state%20in%2017%20years. | title = California says it will dismantle death row. The move brings cheers and anger | last = Westervelt | first = Eric | date = January 13, 2023 | website = npr.org | publisher = [[National Public Radio]] | access-date = August 5, 2023 }}</ref> There is currently a gubernatorial hold on executions. Authorized methods of execution include the [[gas chamber]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/methods-of-execution | title=Methods of Execution }}</ref>