Four Simple Words: An Analysis of the 2024 Election

The 2024 presidential election is set, and it looks mighty familiar. In a seemingly reoccurring nightmare, instead of Vice President Joe Biden facing off against incumbent President Donald Trump, we have President Joe Biden against four-time indictee and convicted criminal Donald Trump (who is probably in court as you are reading this). However, one major change between 2020 and 2024 is the issue of abortion.

While then-candidate Biden ran on abortion in 2020, it didn’t strike the same chord with voters as it does now. Instead of saying that conservatives may overturn Roe v. Wade, Democrats in 2024 can now tell voters that it has happened, and the worst may be yet to come. It was the Republicans who were able to run on this issue for decades to rile up their base, and now as a result of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the issue has been teed up for Democrats to take advantage of. All they need to do is swing.

NationJack JacobsJuly 5, 2024Jack Jacobs, 2024 election, abortion, Joe BidenComment

Hijacking the Ballot: The Problem with California’s Ballot Initiative System

When I went to vote for the first time in the fall of 2022, I received a ballot I wasn’t quite expecting. As I looked forward to, I had the opportunity to vote for my representative, state legislative assemblymember, and local city council members. However, as I kept going down the ballot, I encountered something that surprised me. After voting for federal, state, and local candidates, I was faced with seven ballot initiatives on a wide range of issues.

StateJack JacobsApril 1, 2024Jack Jacobs, voting, ballots, California PoliticsComment

The California Republican Party is Obsessed with Losing (Or So It Seems)

In the current political landscape in the United States, California is considered one of the bluest of blue states you can get. Every statewide office is held by a Democrat, the state legislature boasts a Democratic supermajority, and Democratic candidates in nationwide elections usually enjoy a 15-20% advantage. Republicans in the state struggle to even have a chance of winning statewide offices. For example, in the 2024 race for the US Senate seat in California, it seems that the two candidates running against each other in the general election will be two Democrats.

StateJack JacobsNovember 1, 2023Jack Jacobs, Republican, Republican Party, California Politics, California GOP, StateComment

California’s Ability to Fight for Abortion Rights may be Shrinking

Following the leak of the draft opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in May 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted that, “California will not sit back. We are going to fight like hell.” The decision, officially released later that year in June, overturned the 50-year precedent of Roe v. Wade and removed federal protection of abortion services in the United States. This decision turned abortion rights over to the states, which has resulted in 13 states banning abortion.

StateJack JacobsJune 25, 2023Jack Jacobs, abortion, California, dobbs, abortion access, Gavin NewsomComment

Inequality in Death: Why California should Abolish the Death Penalty

California has not executed a death row inmate since January 2006, yet still has 690 inmates living in fear of execution. In 2012 and 2016, propositions to abolish the death penalty failed. In 2012, the proposition was defeated with 51.95% of the vote, and in 2016, the proposition was defeated with 53.15% of the vote. In comparison, President Obama received 59.3% of the vote in California in 2012 and Hilary Clinton received 61.5% in 2016. The stark contrast between the two results can be explained by the American fear of crime and its importance in elections.

The Use of Inmate Firefighters and its Injustices

California has experienced eight of the state’s largest wildfires in the last five years. To combat these fires, California has enlisted firefighters from out-of-state and sometimes other countries to fight these deadly wildfires. Another significant and often overlooked source of manpower against wildfires is the prison population. Since World War Two, California prisons and Cal Fire have run the Conservation Camp Program. The Conservation Camp Program trains eligible prisoners to become firefighters as a source of rehabilitation. The inmates undergo one week of classroom instruction and one week of field training and exercises.

State, FeaturedJack JacobsJanuary 8, 2023California, inmate, inmate firefighters, Wildfires, AB 2147, Conservation Camp Program, Amika Mota, Jack JacobsComment