What passed and who won?

November 12, 2020

Ballot Measures:

Proposition 17: Passing with 59% of the vote, this proposition changes the state constitution to allow for felons on parole to vote. This means that inmates still in prison are not allowed to vote, but those serving their parole sentences do gain the right to vote. Prior to this proposition, felons had to complete their imprisonment and parole sentences to be able to vote.

Proposition 22: With 59% of the vote, the success of Proposition 22 means that workers under Uber and Lyft (the “gig” economy) will continue to be classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Uber and Lyft spent over $200 million in efforts to pass the proposition, making it the costliest proposition in state history.

Proposition 24: Passing with 56% of the vote, Prop 24 makes huge changes to data privacy laws in the state. The ballot expands the state’s current data privacy laws, gives consumers the ability to restrain companies from sharing their personal information and creates the Privacy Protection Agency, which is a state agency dedicated to the enforcement of its data privacy laws.

A graph of contributions to each ballot measure. Supporting contributions urged Californians to vote “yes” and opposing contributions urged Californians to vote “no.” Numbers are rounded to the nearest million and the data has been taken from the Ballotpedia encyclopedia (Graphic by Sophia Weis).

Carlsbad City Council:

District 2: Longtime incumbent Keith Blackburn edged out Lela Panagides with 53% of the vote. Blackburn is a 29-year police officer, still serving in Carlsbad Police Department’s Reserve force. He was first elected to the City Council in 2008.

District 4: Teresa Acosta has won her first term as District 4 representative, completing Carlsbad’s transition from representatives-at-large to district-based reps. The election also means Carlsbad will have a full five-member council for the first time since the events that unfolded from Barbara Hamilton’s resignation in Oct. 2019.

A representation of Carlsbad’s district system. Each district votes on their own representative since a 2017 measure passed by the council. (Image courtesy of carlsbadca.gov)

Carlsbad School Board:

Incumbents Ray Pearson and Elisa Williamson have won their reelections with 55% and 60% of the vote respectively. The district representation for the School Board Trustees is different than the City Council’s and can be found to the right of this paragraph.

House of Representatives:

District 49: California’s 49th District stretches from Dana Point to Del Mar, and as far inland as Vista. Incumbent Mike Levin (D) won reelection against Brian Maryott (R) after a closer than expected race. Levin won with 53% of the vote at the time of writing.

District 50: California’s 50th District covers the likes of Fallbrook, San Marcos and Escondido. Darrel Issa (R) has won the seat left vacant by Duncan Hunter’s (R) resignation. Issa had previously represented the 49th district for 19 years but has since attempted retirement and moved to Fallbrook. Issa won with 54% of the vote at the time of writing.