election 2020

California Capitol, home of the Assembly and Senate. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Dan Walters

In the midst of a pandemic, a recession and myriad other crises, California voters will decide the fate of tax increase measures that would raise billions of dollars if passed.

By

Dan Walters

• August 31, 2020

Commentary

Mayors’ reasons for supporting Prop. 15 don’t hold up

The justifications that only the biggest corporations will pay the tax and the implication that small businesses are protected are easily refuted.

By

Guest Commentary

• August 27, 2020

Commentary

Rent control is a disincentive to build affordable housing

The primary path to the middle class for American families is through property ownership. However, for many African Americans, Latinos and other minorities, the opportunity has been out of reach because of discriminatory housing laws and economic inequality. It’s alarming that a measure on the November ballot would make this lack of access worse and […]

By

Guest Commentary

• August 22, 2020

Dr. Melina Abdullah, an advocate for overturning Prop. 209, says that human resources barred her department from saying that they were looking for people who could specifically serve Black students in a job listing. Photo by Alexis Hunley for CalMatters

Education

A ballot prop that could boost racial equity among university faculty

Repealing the ban on affirmative action will make it easier for public colleges and universities to target underrepresented groups for faculty positions.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• August 20, 2020

Supporters peer through the window during a Bernie Sanders presidential campaign event at Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, CA on February 17, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

At Dem convention, California Bernie delegates given virtually no chance to cause a ruckus

Delegates can't unfurl a banner, stage a walkout or heckle a speaker from the isolation of their living room couch.

By

Ben Christopher

• August 19, 2020

Commentary

Keys for getting first-time and limited-English speaking voters to participate in the election

Targeted outreach efforts are crucial for reaching first-time, low-propensity and limited-English speaking voters.

By

Guest Commentary

• August 19, 2020

Commentary

Personal information measure on the ballot would allow ‘redlining’ and hurt small businesses of color

Prop. 24 creates a loophole that weakens the privacy of small businesses and hurts our Black, Latino and Asian-American small businesses the most.

By

Guest Commentary

• August 18, 2020

Commentary

How Prop. 13 gave California’s richest corporations a multibillion-dollar tax break they didn’t want

Four decades ago, California’s corporate leaders opposed the windfall given them by Prop. 13. In November they will spend millions to protect it.

By

Guest Commentary

• August 17, 2020

A mail carrier wearing a mask and gloves in Berkeley on March 27, 2020. Postal employees are considered essential during the shelter in place. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

As Trump takes aim at postal funding, could he ‘sabotage’ California’s all-mail election?

Voter rights groups warn that recent Postal Service changes could make it more difficult for voters to cast ballots in the mail this November. But Californians still have options.

By

Ben Christopher

• August 13, 2020

gig work protesters carrying signs supporting AB-5, a bill that would change the employment classification for on-demand workers such as Uber and Lyft drivers, is posted in front of the California capitol on August 28, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Economy

Uber, Lyft and why California’s war over gig work is just beginning

A judge stayed an order that the ride-hailing giants must comply with California’s AB 5 contractor law, but legal arguments, a November ballot battle and big questions about organized labor loom large.

By

Lauren Hepler

• August 13, 2020

Election 2020