Endorsements have made national headlines recently, with both the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post announcing in the final weeks of the campaign that they would not be endorsing a presidential candidate.

But supporting the president is only part of a newsroom's role during election season. They are also busy preparing endorsements for state and local candidates and ballot propositions.

California's six leading newspaper editorial boards unanimously agreed on two of the ten proposals. They all said Proposition 33, which would allow local governments to impose rent control, was a bad idea. They all supported Prop. 3, a constitutional amendment to enshrine same-sex marriage.

Most others have editorial boards divided along ideological lines: The LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee both supported $10 billion in credit measures, Prop. 2 for schools and Prop. 4 for climate and water also Prop. 6, which would limit forced labor in California prisons.

The Times and Bee also opposed Prop. 36, a measure to increase penalties for some drug and theft crimes, while the Chronicle had no comment. “It would devour much of Californians’ recently approved funding for mental health care and gut programs that have successfully reduced recidivism and provided much-needed trauma recovery services to crime victims,” the LATimes editorial board wrote.

The Mercury News, the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Southern California News Group (which includes the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Daily News) all oppose the two bond measures as well as Prop. 6.

“If we can expect the same of ourselves and our children, if we can insist that military members perform these duties, we can certainly require incarcerated convicted criminals to do the same,” The Mercury News wrote in Prop. 6.

On two measures, one board disagreed with everyone else: The Southern California News Group favored Prop. 34, which targets a sponsor of rent control measures, while the Bee supported Prop. 35, which would ensure a health The care plan tax benefits patients with low incomes.

In California, some experts say they are not confident that endorsements of the proposal will make much of a difference, even among those who are nearly tied in the polls. The polls show that few likely voters are still undecided.

Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego, says that while endorsements strongly influenced voters in the “heyday” of print newspapers decades ago, there isn't much research on the current media landscape.

“People have stopped reading newspapers or at least subscribing to newspapers,” Kousser said. “American trust in institutions across the board — be they the government, the military, public universities or mainstream news organizations — has declined over the past eight years, and that could lead to fewer people trusting and relying on newspaper recommendations. “

The LA Times' decision prompted three members of its editorial board to resign, including its editor, Mariel Garza. In her resignation letter, she expressed concerns about the potential impact on voting approval.

“Non-endorsement undermines the integrity of the editorial board and every single endorsement we make, up to and including school board elections,” Garza said in the letter. “People will rightly wonder whether each recommendation was a decision by a group of journalists after extensive research and discussion, or a decision by the owner.”

But Kousser said people seem to view the Times' decision not to endorse a presidential candidate as separate from other endorsements. “Because the editorial board has clearly taken the lead on local and state recommendations, I don’t think that changes the way people view it,” he said.

Still, Jacki Schechner, spokeswoman for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a key supporter of Prop. 33, said advocacy for proposals was also influenced by business interests.

“The biggest advertiser for most major newspapers is real estate,” Schechner said in a statement to CalMatters. “Most websites representing grassroots constituencies and the Democratic Party support Prop 33.”

Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, said endorsements have the greatest impact in contests that don't receive as much attention.

“Despite all the hubbub surrounding the LA Times and Washington Post, virtually no one will change their mind about the editorials,” he said. “However, if it’s a ballot proposition that voters don’t know much about and have difficulty understanding, a newspaper endorsement could be a game-changer.”

Proposition 6 has the lowest support at 41% of voters in the latest poll. The campaign hopes voters can rely on “yes” advocates to make their decisions.

“Key editorial boards across California concluded that prioritizing rehabilitation over prison slavery reduces recidivism and increases community safety for all,” he said

Nini Wu, a spokeswoman for Yes on Prop. 6. “Such important insights and analysis make these publications trusted voices for Californians, and that's why many voters look to them for guidance.”

According to Pitney, endorsements are more likely to influence voters to vote against a proposal. “All things being equal, it is easier to run a 'no' campaign than a 'yes' campaign, and if all people know that a ballot measure is a bad thing, they will vote against it,” he said.

This could have an impact on the measures that predominantly received “no” approval: Props. 33, 34 and 35.

Although it is unclear what impact newspaper recommendations will have on the final election results, Kousser said it is important that editorial boards continue to write them.

“The people involved in these advocacy have tremendous expertise, particularly expertise that is rare in state and local ballot measures,” Kousser said. “They have interactive conversations with campaigns and candidates and advise as a group rather than through a single leader. This process really adds a lot of value to the public.”

For the record: This story has been updated to correct that the San Francisco Chronicle has not taken a position on Prop. 36.

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