Though the outcome of the presidential election remained unclear as ballots in battleground states continued to be counted on Friday morning, results of most legislative races and ballot measure campaigns in California left little doubt about who or what were the winners.
As of Thursday evening, incumbent state Sen. Anthony Portantino had a firm lead over Kathleen Hazelton — 236,728 votes to 122,979 — and will continue representing District 25, which includes Burbank.
Laura Friedman defeated Mike Graves to continue serving the people of the 43rd Assembly District, receiving nearly 71% of the votes cast.
Adam Schiff will also be reelected as the U.S. representative for the 28th District with 73.58% of the votes in a race against Eric Early.
Los Angeles County residents appear to have passed Measure J, which requires officials to allocate no less than 10% of the county’s general fund to invest in alternatives to incarceration and social services. With the majority of ballots cast and the measure receiving 57% of the vote, the Yes on J campaign proclaimed victory on Twitter on Tuesday night.
App-based companies such as Uber and Lyft scored a major win in California with 58% of the voters approving Proposition 22, which grants the companies the right to define their drivers as independent contractors rather than as employees. The successful, nearly $200 million campaign overrides last year’s Assembly Bill 5, which would have forced the tech companies to comply with classifying gig drivers as employees.
Voters also passed Proposition 17, which would allow people on parole to vote, with 59% approval, and Proposition 24 — a ballot initiative that would expand consumer privacy rights — with 56% of ballots in its favor.
A number of ballot measures were rejected by Californians, most notably Proposition 21. Nearly 60% opposed the ballot initiative that would have allowed municipalities to establish rent control on housing more than 15 years old.
An initiative that would have restricted parole for certain offenses, Proposition 20, was also shot down with 62% voting against it. Fifty-six percent rejected Proposition 16, a constitutional amendment to repeal the ban on affirmative action.
Sixty-four percent of the state’s voters rejected Proposition 23, a ballot initiative that would have changed how kidney dialysis clinics are run, and 55% voted against Proposition 25, repealing Senate Bill 10, which was designed to replace cash bail with a system based on public safety and flight risk for detained suspects.
Despite being supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Democratic Party, Proposition 18 — which amends the state constitution to permit 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they are due to turn 18 before the next general election to vote — was rejected with 55.2% voting against it.
Three ballot measures were too close to call at the Burbank Leader’s press deadline. Though votes will continue to be counted for days or possibly weeks, Proposition 15 — which would tax commercial and industrial properties based on market value rather than purchase price, to fund public education and local governments — prompted nearly 52% of voters to say no.
One of the closest races among ballot measures involved Proposition 19, with 51% of voters in the state opposing it as of Thursday evening. The proposition would give property owners older than 55 a tax break on the purchase of a new home, and children who inherit the home would no longer receive a tax break if they intend to keep it as a second home or rental property.
Proposition 14 is also a close race with 51% voting in favor of approving more than $5.5 billion in bonds to continue stem cell research.
