Proposition Results and What They Mean
After months of billboards and social media advertisements telling you to vote "YES" or "NO" on California's propositions, the election is officially over.
Voters passed Propositions 14, 17, 19, 22, and 24, and rejected Propositions 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, and 25. Some races were closer than others, with Propositions 14 and 19 approved by only a 1% lead. The proposition passed with the widest margin was Proposition 23, rejected with 63.6% of the total votes.
Of those that passed, Proposition 22 has faced some of the loudest opposition, from both labor unions and the California Democratic Party. Prop 22 gives Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other "gig-economy" delivery companies the right to define their employees as independent contractors, overriding California state law and allowing these companies to adopt labor and wage policies specific to their employees.
Illustration of California State Capitol By Carolyn Burt
Despite backlash, Proposition 22 was approved with 58% of the vote. This means that gig economy companies can now withhold basic employment for their California drivers, such as sick leave and unemployment benefits. The measure was Uber’s and Lyft’s response to California Assembly Bill 5, which was passed last year and limited the use of independent contractors. Ride-sharing and food delivery apps have now eliminated a significant threat to their business model. The California Labor Federation called it a "low pay, no protection business model that will expand in virtually every industry, leading to unprecedented job loss and a race to the bottom."
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and other gig companies poured more than $200 million into advertising for Proposition 22, the most money spent on a California ballot measure in over two decades. Both Uber and Lyft had ads strategically placed on their apps for months prior to the state election, and made other ads using drivers as actors to talk about how this proposition would be beneficial to them. They also sent out mass texts to those registered to vote within the state of California. They were accused of using lawyers to make their wording seem favorable to the general public, and Uber was sued by a group of drivers for using in-app messages claiming they would lose their jobs if the proposition failed.
Both Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Lyft President John Zimmer released statements back in August, saying that they would most likely have to at least temporarily pause services in the state of California if Proposition 22 did not pass.
Allie Lebos, a University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) graduate, is now an independent contractor doing freelance writing. She advocated for Proposition 22. "This one was really tough and controversial, but as a fellow independent contractor, I think this turned out the best," she said. "Regardless of if you think Uber and Lyft are morally in the wrong for this, way too many jobs would have been lost, and given the current circumstances of our economy, it would not be worth it."
Of the two propositions that addressed criminal justice reform, Proposition 17 was passed, while Proposition 25 was not. Prop. 17 was passed with 59% of Californians in favor. As a result, voting rights will be restored to those on parole for felony convictions. Prop. 25, on the other hand, was rejected with 56.3% of Californians voting "no." This means that the money bail system will stay in place, rather than replacing it with a system based on public safety and flight risk assessments.
Out of the seven that did not pass, Proposition 16 was considered a loss by more progressive voters. The measure would have repealed the 1996 Proposition 209, which banned governments and public institutions from being able to make decisions based on race, gender, religion, or sexuality because it is viewed as a discriminatory action. This is also known as affirmative action, and if it were reinstated, schools and government organizations would take these factors into account when accepting applicants. Supporters of Proposition 16 said that reimplementing affirmative action would bring more diversity into workplaces and schools. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was an avid supporter of Prop 16, along with many other Democratic leaders and party members. Those who opposed included the Republican Party of California.
Sunjay Jayachandran is a biology professor at SMC and at California State University Los Angeles (CSULA). When he saw the results of Proposition 16, he was disturbed it did not pass. "I'm for the inclusion of affirmative action. The inclusion of underprivileged minorities with respect to employment," said Jayachandran. "I'm not sure why in a state where liberals clearly outnumber conservatives, it did not pass."
In addition to these propositions, the nine others were also very close races. Those that passed were: Proposition 14, which authorizes $5.5 billion in state bonds for stem cell and other medical research; Proposition 19, which gives tax breaks to homeowners who are over 55, disabled, or disaster victims, and heavily taxes heirs who benefit from property purchased and passed down by parents and grandparents; and Proposition 24, which amends consumer privacy laws, with a new state agency and the Department of Justice sharing responsibility for enforcing these laws. Regarding Proposition 24, the ACLU cited concerns that the measure allows “pay for privacy” schemes, wherein companies charge consumers to opt out of having their data sold or shared.
The remaining propositions that did not pass were: Proposition 15, meaning that property taxes on commercial properties will not change, and local governments & schools will not get new funding that would have come from this proposition; Prop. 18, meaning that voters under 18 will still be unable to vote in a primary election if they turn 18 by that cycle’s general election; Prop. 20, meaning that the penalties for those who commit certain nonviolent, theft-related offenses will not be increased, and these inmates will still be eligible for early parole consideration; Prop. 21, meaning that local municipalities will not be able to enact rent control that supercedes the state laws; and Prop. 23, meaning that kidney dialysis clinics will not be required to implement new regulations, such having a doctor on-site during all operating hours.
California has voted blue in every national election since 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected president. However, the state voted mostly red in presidential elections before this, starting from the 1952 election of Dwight D. Eisenhower. In this year's state elections, we saw a clear divide between liberal and conservative voters within the state.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), L.A. County's population makes up 31% of all Democratic voters in the state, and the San Francisco Bay Area makes up 25%. On the other hand, the Central Valley makes up 23% of Republican voters, while Orange and San Diego counties make up another 23%.
This year's nationwide election highlighted the division between parties, and California's statewide elections exposed partisanship within its own borders. Those who assume that California is a liberal utopia have received a reality check this election. The propositions and other election results revealed that while California is mostly liberal, there are also many people in the state who vote conservative.
