Conservative "ballot initiatives" have passed only to be thrown out by the courts.
Nevertheless, "ballot initiatives"" are an asinine way of setting policy. That is how California has been on the brink of bankruptcy: the citizens pass initiatives calling for more funding of education, healthcare, environmental protection, etc., yet vote for limits on taxation. There are some great people there, but it is still the land of fruits and nuts and political inconsistency.
BTW: California's generous welfare state doesn't change the fact that the illegals should have been deported YESTERDAY.