As we dig through the 2020 election implosion, results from the state of California show that its voters have not lost all reason and logic.
As my colleague Mike LaChance noted, the defeated Proposition 16, which was designed to basically undo civil rights in the name of social justice.
Voters there also approved a measure that would allow Uber and Lyft drivers to work as independent contractors, alleviating employment restrictions strangling the gig economy that were implemented under the state legislatures notorious AB5.
Shares of Uber and Lyft closed up big Wednesday after early voting projections suggest that Californians have decided both companies should be exempt from a labor law that aimed to make drivers employees instead of contractors.Shares of Uber closed up 14.59% at $40.99, a new 52-week high, while Lyft closed up 11.28%.Voters were deciding on California’s Proposition 22, a ballot measure that Uber and Lyft were using as a last hope in the state to continue operating as they currently do. The proposition would allow drivers for app-based transportation and delivery companies to be classified as independent contractors in many circumstances. While that would disqualify them for benefits granted to employees, the measure also entitles drivers to new benefits like minimum earnings and vehicle insurance.
Californians also voted to keep the state’s cash bail system in place by rejecting Proposition 25.
California is sticking with its traditional cash bail system, rejecting a nation-leading move to rely instead on risk assessments to decide which suspects should remain jailed awaiting trial.With more than 11 million votes counted as of Wednesday, Proposition 25 had just 45% support.Backers had said the traditional bail system punishes the poor, who are often racial minorities, because they lack the money to buy their freedom or can least afford to pay a bail bondsman.Opponents said the alternative’s risk assessment tools also are racially and socioeconomically biased.
Congressman Devon Nunes (R, CA-22), who was so instrumental in uncovering the Russian Collusion Hoax was reelected.
As of just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nunes had received 53.5% of votes cast in the district, which spans south of Tulare to the northeastern corner of Fresno, according to the California secretary of state’s office.Nunes has been in office since 2003 and won reelection without difficulty until 2018, when he faced Democratic challenger Andrew Janz, a Fresno County prosecutor.
Additionally, three races remain tight in districts the GOP was hoping to reclaim after loosing them to the ballot-harvesting shenanigans in 2018. Those may still end up in the Republican win category.
Of course, Californians aren’t entirely rational in their voting. For example, Adam Schiff is returning to Congress.
Democratic incumbent Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) will continue representing the 28th Congressional District after defeating Republican challenger Eric Early. The Associate Press called the race late Tuesday night, as Schiff led with 75.6% of the vote.
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