News Update

Prop. 15 in tight vote, Prop. 16 losing in final poll before election

Proposition 15, the initiative to raise property taxes on commercial property by amending the tax limitation law Proposition 13, continues to have around 50% support, and Proposition 16, which would repeal the constitutional amendment banning affirmative action, continues to lag far behind, in the latest — and last — Public Policy Institute of California poll before the Nov. 3 election.

The latest results show 49% of likely voters support Prop. 15, 45% oppose, and 6% are undecided. The bad news for unions and community groups advocating for it is Prop. 15 has lost a little ground, and undecided voters are trending “no” since the September poll, when 51% backed it, 40% opposed and 9% hadn’t decided. Both sides are doing massive TV advertising.

Proposition 16, which would allow gender and racial preferences for college admissions, hiring and public contracting, picked up a little support, but it has a long way to go, with little time to make it up. In the latest poll, 37% of likely voters said they’d vote yes, 50% would vote no, with 12% undecided. A month ago, it was 31% yes, 47% no and 22% undecided.

There was a partisan split for both initiatives, with Democrats largely in favor and Republicans opposed. The survey of 1,701 voters took place between Oct. 9 and Oct. 18.

Among other findings, 57% of Californians said they would probably or definitely get a vaccine for Covid-19 if it were available today, while 40% said they definitely or probably would not.