I’ve wondered about that too and I agree with you. To me, it’s about the dangers of an “Imperial Judiciary” where a panel of unelected lawyers arbitrarily overturn the will of the people. It’s, in effect, rule by an oligarchy not the people. And it’s not just in California that referenda have been rejected by a few lawyers. The worst part of it is that these decisions are clearly determined by sheer political partisanship and have nothing to do with their constitutionality.