[On Nov. 3, voters in many states and cities approved a variety of
inequality-related proposals, from taxing the wealthy to increasing
the minimum wage and tenant protections.] [[link removed]]

14 SUCCESSFUL BALLOT INITIATIVES TO REDUCE INEQUALITY  
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Brian Wakamo
November 9, 2020
Inequality.org
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_ On Nov. 3, voters in many states and cities approved a variety of
inequality-related proposals, from taxing the wealthy to increasing
the minimum wage and tenant protections. _

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While all eyes have been on the race for the White House, voters in
states across the country also weighed in on economic proposals with
huge implications for inequality. Here are 14 successful ballot
initiatives that will help narrow the divides for millions.

LEARN MORE ON...
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Covid-19 and Inequality
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TAX INCREASES ON THE WEALTHY AND CORPORATIONS

* San Franciscans delivered two of the biggest victories in the fight
over fair taxation, including a measure to raise the real estate
transfer tax
[[link removed](November_2020)] on
sales of properties values above $10 million.
* Another successful San Francisco measure will increase taxes on
corporations that pay their CEO more than 100 times their median
employee in that city. My Institute for Policy Studies colleague Sarah
Anderson explains
[[link removed]] how
this proposal will encourage corporations to narrow their pay gaps
while generating revenue for programs to reduce poverty and
inequality.
* Voters in Oregon’s Multnomah County
[[link removed].]—
home of Portland — approved a plan to provide “preschool for
all” with a tax on higher earners in that county. As my
Portland-based colleague Robert Alvarez writes
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this progressive victory is the result of effective coalition-building
around bold goals, from addressing racial disparities in access to
preschool to paying educators a living wage.
* Arizona’s Proposition 208
[[link removed](2020)], which
would increase taxes on incomes above $250,000 to pay for higher
teacher salaries and better schools, passed as well.
* Colorado voters approved
[[link removed](2020)] a
statewide paid medical and family leave program, funded by a payroll
tax.

On the down side, residents of cash-strapped Illinois rejected a
constitutional amendment
[[link removed](2020)] to
replace their regressive “flat” income tax with graduated
progressive rates. Another disappointing failure:
California’s Proposition 15
[[link removed](2020)],
which would’ve raised funds for schools and local governments by
taxing commercial and industrial properties worth more than $3 million
at their market value rather than their purchase price.

WORKER PROTECTIONS

* Despite intense opposition from the restaurant and tourism
industries, more Floridians voted in favor of raising the state’s
minimum wage to $15
[[link removed](2020)] (over
six years) than voted for Donald Trump.
* In the Maine city of Portland, voters also approved a $15
proposal
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a three-year phase-in). In both Florida and Maine, the wage hike
proposals received an impressive 60 percent support.

On the mega-bummer front: Californians approved Proposition 22
[[link removed](2020)],
a corporate-backed effort to overturn a state law requiring Uber,
Lyft, DoorDash, and other platform-based firms to classify their
workers as employees, with basic labor rights, instead of as
independent contractors. Uber and Lyft spent $200 million to
essentially write their own labor law in California and they are
already exploring similar strategies in other states. See Bama
Athreya’s analysis for Inequality.org
[[link removed]].

HOUSING

* As the country faces a surge in evictions and foreclosures, several
ballot proposals addressed homelessness and the need for affordable
housing. For example, voters in Portland, Maine approved
[[link removed]] rent
caps and increased tenant protections.
* In King County, Washington, voters approved
[[link removed](November_2020)] a
proposal to allow the county to sell, lease, or transfer properties
for below-market value if it’s used for affordable housing.
* San Francisco approved a bond measure
[[link removed](November_2020)] to
use $487.5 million from property taxes to fund housing for
homelessness and mental health facilities, as well as a proposal
[[link removed]] to
build 10,000 units of affordable housing.

Despite the state’s affordable housing crisis, California voters
resoundingly rejected Proposition 21
[[link removed](2020)],
which would’ve let local governments enact rent control on almost
all rental housing more than 15 years old. San Diego voters also
failed to give an affordable housing
[[link removed]] ballot
measure the super-majority
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to pass.

TRANSIT EQUITY

* As my colleague Basav Sen has written
[[link removed]], barriers
to public transit “make it harder for people — particularly people
of color and poor people — from being able to get to jobs, school,
and wherever else they need to go.” Unfortunately, several of the
public transit proposals on this year’s ballots were based on sales
tax increases, which fall most heavily on the poor. An important
exception: in Austin, Texas
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voters approved a plan to raise property taxes to fund a $7 billion
project to expand bus and rail lines across the city.

Sadly, in the Portland, Oregon metro area, voters rejected a proposal
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increase payroll taxes on firms with more than 25 employees to pay for
public transit expansion.

MONEY IN POLITICS

* By an overwhelming 79-21 margin, Oregon voters passed Measure 107
[[link removed](2020)],
which will limit campaign contributions and spending and force more
transparency for campaign spending and funding and for political
advertisements.

Ranked-choice voting had an unsuccessful election day, failing in
both Massachusetts
[[link removed](2020)] and Alaska
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This approach makes the electoral process more equitable by boosting
the chances of third party and independent candidates without
deep-pocket donors.

DIGITAL DIVIDE

* In Denver, voters approved a proposal
[[link removed](November_2020)] to
allow their city to provide internet, phone, and TV services as a
public utility. This should help narrow the “digital divide” in a
city where 20 percent
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residents, who are disproportionately people of color, lack broadband
internet. It should also help loosen Comcast and Century Link’s
current domination
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the local market.

CRIMINALIZATION OF POVERTY

* In Los Angeles County, residents voted to
[[link removed]] allocate 10
percent of the county’s revenues towards community investment
programs that provide alternatives to incarceration. This was among a
long list of important criminal justice reforms 
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ballots across the country.

On the discouraging side, California voters rejected a measure
[[link removed](2020)] that
would have gotten rid of cash bail, a system that results in poor
people being detained while they await trial for weeks or even months.

_Note: An earlier version of this article appeared on October 22,
2020._

_Brian Wakamo is a research analyst on the Global Economy Project at
the Institute for Policy Studies. You can follow him on Twitter at
@brian_wakamo_

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