[4] This is predominantly due to additions by California ballot propositions, which allow enacting amendments by a simple majority vote in a referendum.

[5] As a result, if California were a sovereign state, its constitution would rank the second or third-longest in the world by total number of words.

[5][6] This has led politicians and political scientists to argue the procedures for amending the California constitution are too lax, creating a state constitution that is filled with irrelevant detail and incoherent policies created by conflicting majorities attempting to impose their will on each other by the ballot process.

[citation needed] In response to widespread public disgust with the powerful railroads that controlled California's politics and economy at the start of the 20th century, Progressive Era politicians pioneered the concept of aggressively amending the state constitution by initiative in order to remedy perceived evils.

[4] The length has been attributed to a variety of factors, such as the influence of previous Mexican civil law, a lack of faith in elected officials and the fact that many initiatives take the form of a constitutional amendment.

[16] Article 4, Section 8(d) defines an "urgency statute" as one "necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety"; any proposed bill including such a provision includes a "statement of facts constituting the necessity" and a two-thirds majority of each house is required to also separately pass the bill's urgency section.

The constitution also confers upon women equality of rights in "entering or pursuing a business, profession, vocation, or employment."

[20] Since 1900, Stanford has enjoyed the benefit of a constitutional clause shielding Stanford-owned property from taxes as long as it is used for educational purposes.

A constitutional revision originally required a constitutional convention but today may be passed with the approval of both two-thirds of the Legislature and approval by a majority of voters; while simplified since its beginnings, the revision process is considered more politically charged and difficult to successfully pass than an amendment.