The ballot had a total of seven state measures to decide on, not including municipal election measures.
Out of the seven proposed propositions, only Proposition 1, Proposition 28 and Proposition 31 were passed by California voters during the midterm elections.
Proposition 1 passed with an overwhelming majority of 68.72% of the vote. The passage of this proposition will amend the California Constitution to explicitly protect reproductive rights across the state of California.
Reproductive rights entail the fundamental right to abortion as well as the right to accept or refuse contraception. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a majority of Californians cast their ballots to show their support of reproductive rights and reinforce our State Constitution as well as its protections.
Proposition 28, another popular state measure, won 65.60% of votes from Californians. Proposition 28 sought to provide additional funding for arts programs and education in K-12 public schools.
Influential artists like Michael Balzary, commonly known as Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, posted on election day to show his support. Flea delved into the importance of art programs for public schools since he himself had graduated from Fairfax High School.
The last state measure to be overwhelmingly accepted was Proposition 31, which sought to prohibit the retail sale of flavored tobacco products. This state measure comes in light of the overwhelming popularity of disposable flavored vape and nicotine products sold in various head shops and smoke shops across California.
Photo credit: Jonathan Bigall
The extent of the popularity of flavors has even surfaced in companies like Flum Float creating flavors like Gummy Drop, Cotton Candy, and Strawberry Ice Cream. Election results as of Wednesday showed 63.48% of votes in favor of a ban on flavored tobacco products. Whether this ban will result in the complete removal of flavored vapes from the marketplace is still in question.