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Last Updated: Wednesday Nov. 11, 5:00 p.m.

Amid a heated and drawn out presidential race, California saw results on some of its contentious 2020 ballot propositions. Here is how Californian’s voted on state initiatives. 

Prop. 14: Passed

California voters passed Proposition 71 in 2004 creating the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and allotting the institution $3 billion for stem cell research. As those funds are diminishing, Prop. 14 seeks to regenerate money for the institute and expand its research to other causes such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease by selling investors bonds worth $5.5 billion, which taxpayers would pay back with interest over the next 30 years. The proposition was passed with 51 percent of votes in favor of the bond. 

Prop. 15: Not Passed

Proposition 15 would require property owners to pay taxes based on the current market value rather than the original price they paid for the land. Farmland owners and those with under $3 million in California property would not be affected. The tax change would accumulate between $6.5 and $11.5 billion, 40 percent of which would go to schools and community colleges and 60 percent of which would be allotted to cities and counties. Fifty-two percent of votes were cast in opposition of the measure and it was not passed. 

Prop. 16: Not Passed 

Proposition 16 called to repeal Proposition 209 of 1996, a constitutional amendment that barred the state’s ability to discriminate or grant favoritism on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, or other fixed traits. Under Prop. 16, public state agencies would be allowed to practice affirmative action and take these characteristics into account when hiring employees or accepting applicants. The proposition was rejected with 56 percent of voters voting against it. 

Prop. 17: Passed 

Proposition 17, which called to allow Californians currently on parole to vote has passed with 59 percent of voters supporting the initiative. The proposition marks a partial rollback on Prop. 10 passed by voters in 1974 that granted felons the right to vote only after completing their sentence and parole. 

Prop. 18: Not Passed

Although 23 states already allow 17-year-olds to vote in certain circumstances, Proposition 18 would grant all 17-year-old U.S. citizens the right to vote in a primary and special election so long as they will be 18 by the next general election. The proposition was shot down as 55 percent of voters were opposed. 

Prop. 19: Passed 

Prop. 19 would give homeowners who are over 55, disabled, or veterans a property tax break, as they’d be able to retain low property taxes when buying a new home. In turn the Prop. would alter the current tax laws that allow those who inherit homes from older relatives to continue paying old tax rates on the property, making it harder to keep those lower rates. Californians have passed the measure with 52 percent voting in favor. 

Prop. 20: Not Passed

Proposition 20 sought to redefine some misdemeanors as felonies and has been denied with 62 percent of voters showing opposition. The Prop. would have allowed prosecutors to increase penalties for former prisoners who violate the conditions of their release more than three times, charge some property crimes amounting more than 250 dollars as felonies rather than misdemeanors, require law enforcement to store DNA from petty criminals in a database, and double the list of felonies that disqualify an inmate for parole.

Prop. 21: Not Passed

Prop. 21 would let cities implement rent control measures on housing that is at least 15 years old. The statute, which was put on the ballot due to signatures collected by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, would exclude landlords that own no more than two homes. Voters shot down the proposition with 60 percent saying “no.” 

Prop. 22: Passed

Proposition 22 would give drivers employed by apps such as Uber and Lyft the title of private contractors. It seeks to exempt these driving app companies from a law passed in January that requires contract workers in certain industries to receive the benefits of an employee, such as healthcare, overtime pay and paid sick leave. Under Prop. 22, driving-app workers would remain private contractors and receive more restricted benefits than state employees, including accident insurance and pay that is at least 120 percent of minimum wage. The measure would also bring more driver background checks and a zero tolerance policy for substance use violations. Prop. 22 was passed with 58 percent of voters showing support. 

Prop. 23: Not Passed

Under Proposition 23, kidney dialysis clinics would have to keep at least one physician on site at all times and would end clinics’ ability to turn patients away based on insurance type. These establishments would also be required to report all infection data to state health officials and receive permission from the health department before closing any clinics. This statute was denied as 64 percent of voters opposed it. 

Prop. 24: Passed 

California currently holds the nation’s strictest privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 which allows consumers to regulate the data that companies collect on them to an extent. Proposition 24 seeks to strengthen that law by placing a $7,500 fine on the violation of children’s privacy rights and creating a state agency to enforce this, letting users tell businesses to limit the use of their personal data, and barring companies from keeping users’ date for longer than needed. The Prop. will also trim down the list of businesses who must abide by the Consumer Privacy Act to those that buy and sell data from at least 100,000 households per year. The statute was passed with 56 percent of voters saying “yes” to Prop. 24. 

Prop. 25: Not Passed

Proposition 25 proposed a state law that would ban the use of money bail in California and replace it with a system in which a person’s release is based on their assessed flight risk. Legislators passed a bill ending cash bail in 2018 and put the matter on this year’s ballot as a referendum. The proposition did not pass this year as 56 percent of votes are against it. 

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