On Tuesday California voters rejected a statewide ballot measure that would have allowed affirmative action programs to be reinstated, The Los Angeles Times reports.
Voters rejected the affirmative action measure, Proposition 16, 56.1% to 43.9%, according to The New York Times. It was placed on the ballot by a Democrat-controlled California legislature to repeal the 1996 measure that banned affirmative action programs, Proposition 209.
Prop. 16 would have allowed public universities in California to consider race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin during the admissions process to address diversity issues. Throughout the years, discourse surrounding affirmative action has focused on its use in college admissions programs.
But Prop. 16 wouldn’t have just restored affirmative action at public universities. According to The Los Angeles Times, the measure would have also allowed state and local governments to consider race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin when hiring government employees and awarding government contracts.
California is not the only state that has struggled to restore affirmative action. Washington, a state that is also known for its liberalism, failed to overturn a ban on affirmative action in 2018, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.
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