By Christine Mai-Duc 

Business and conservative interests won several key victories among this year's slate of 12 propositions in California.

Voters in America's most populous state rejected a measure that would have allowed affirmative action in public employment, contracting and admissions 24 years after it was initially banned.

As of Wednesday morning local time, results showed 56% of Californians voted against Proposition 16 and 44% in favor, according to the Associated Press.

The hotly contested Proposition 22, which exempts gig companies such as Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and DoorDash Inc. from a new state labor law, passed with 58% support as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the A.P. Companies supporting the measure raised a record $205 million, outspending opponents including labor unions 10-to-1.

Another hard-fought measure that would allow tax increases on commercial property, ending limits that have been in place since 1978's Proposition 13, was too close to call as of Wednesday afternoon. Opponents led 52% to 48%, according to the A.P.

Californians also voted to overturn a state law passed last year that eliminated cash bail, a blow to a nationwide movement to end the practice. That measure was backed by the bail bond industry.

In addition, voters rejected a measure to allow expanded rent control in the state that was aggressively opposed by landlords.

Proposition 16 proponents have long wanted to remove California from the list of nine states that forbid affirmative action. They said it is necessary to increase enrollment of Black and Latino students in the state's higher education system, which is below their share of the state's public high school graduates.

Opponents argued that affirmative action undermines a system that should be based on merit and that diversity should be achieved through means that don't consider race.

The heads of the state's public university systems had endorsed Proposition 16. After losing, they said they would seek to increase diversity via better outreach and addressing student experiences on campus.

"The failure of Proposition 16 means barriers will remain in place to the detriment of many students, families and California at large," said John A. Perez, chairman of the board that oversees the University of California system.

In a Facebook post, the opposing campaign called the result a "resounding victory for equality under the law."

The measure sought to repeal Proposition 209, passed by voters in 1996, which prohibited the consideration of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin by state and local government agencies and public universities.

Supporters of affirmative action have monitored polling on the issue for more than a decade. During the summer, amid protests over the killing of George Floyd in police custody and a heightened focus on racial justice issues, Prop. 16's backers sensed a path to victory. The state Legislature narrowly passed a bill to place the question on the ballot, and the Yes on 16 campaign drew support from Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and a cadre of elected officials, public university leaders and corporations.

Backers had hoped shifts in California's demographics and politics -- the state is now majority nonwhite and no Republican has been elected to statewide office since 2006 -- would boost its chances of passage.

But the measure consistently trailed in polls, indicating that many voters in the largely Democratic state remained uncomfortable with the idea of allowing preferences -- particularly for race in public university admissions, which was the focus of the debate.

All together, supporters raised more than $31 million, most of it from wealthy individuals including Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer; Patricia Quillin, wife of Netflix Inc. Chief Executive Reed Hastings; and Quinn Delaney, a former civil rights attorney who gave $7.9 million.

Opponents were led in part by a vocal contingent of Asian-American activists who helped derail a similar effort in 2014. They raised just over $1.6 million, with support from a group funded by conservative legal activist Ed Blum and small donations from Chinese-American individuals.

While Asian-Americans have generally been supportive of affirmative action in national surveys, polls have shown a decline in support among Chinese-Americans in particular, especially among recent immigrants who are concerned affirmative action will threaten their children's ability to gain entry into California's elite public universities.

Asian-Americans are overrepresented at University of California schools, compared to their share of the state's public high school graduates.

--Melissa Korn contributed to this article.

Write to Christine Mai-Duc at christine.maiduc@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 04, 2020 17:53 ET (22:53 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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