Chris Andrade, a Communications Professor at Fresno State says it's nothing new. "They've always had negative ads. Politics has always been mudslinging."
But, for Assembly Member Juan Arambula, who's held elected office for decades, what is new is the quantity of advertising. "I think what has changed this year from prior elections is just the amount, the volume of advertisements whether mailers or TV advertisements."
Arambula believes we can thank the Supreme Court for the advertising surge for candidates and propositions. "I think there's way too much money in elections and that's gotten worse as a result of the Supreme Court decision allowing corporations and other entities to funnel money into campaigns often times without disclosing who is behind those advertisements."
But, does all that advertising really help voters make an informed decision? "Absolutely not. Absolutely not. You cannot make an informed choice," said Andrade. "They open those mailers up. Well, Brown says this, Whitman says this, and what are they comparing? They're comparing two things that are completely deceptive and out of context."
But, Andrade says while they can't' be believed, the ads do work especially as the election gets closer. "Those last ads really change people. That's what they remember. We don't have long memories."
But Arambula disagrees. This year he says potential voters are overloaded. "I think at this point money is being wasted because people have just tuned out."