In November 1996, California voters passed Prop 209 “to prohibit public institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity.” It passed with a 54.6% vote, and has stood up well against constitutional challenge in court.
https://ballotpedia.org/California_Affirmative_Action,_Proposition_209_(1996)
Sadly, if today a measure were put on the California ballot to REPEAL Prop 209, I suspect it would pass equally as easily. I’m sure that many are surprised that Democrats haven’t put just such a measure on the ballot.
The ONE reason I think the Democrat leaders choose not do it is that it would cost them most of the CA Asian vote in the foreseeable future. Asians constitute about 15% of the California population. Our state has by far the highest percent of Asians — except, of course, for Hawaii. The national average (including California which has a disproportionate effect on the average) is 5.6%.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/CA
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi…/Demographics_of_Asian_Americans
Currently Asians have a high percentage of the CA UC student slots — as they should, based on merit. That would change dramatically if Prop 209 were repealed, and affirmative action regained controls of our state colleges and universities.
CA Asians are split ideologically, but have been shifting to the Democrat side, thanks primarily to the GOP’s suicidal obsession with opposing immigration — both illegal AND legal. Democrats do NOT want to change that victory-ensuring factor in California elections.
Repealing Prop 209 would drive most Asians to the GOP — they would rightly see that Asians were the racial group targeted by government as the least favored people in California. Their current public college “slots” would be cut by 50% or more — treating Asians today the way the bigoted Ivy League colleges treated Jews a hundred years ago.
PERSONAL NOTE: Because of the CA demographics and the GOP’s maniacal anti-immigration policy, California is PERMANENTLY owned by the Democratic Party. Learn to live with it. Or consider the increasingly attractive alternative.
U-Haul: 1 (800) 789-3638