Corrupt Electoral Process to Ensure Government of Powerful Private Interests
To guarantee the passage of Prop 22 during the
November 3 California referendum,
the network companies formed a cartel with a war
chest of over $200
million. They bombarded the people of the state
with relentless ads,
text messages, push notifications, emails and
even fliers included in
delivered packages. The Los Angeles Times
reports, "Yes on Prop
22 spent $628,854 a day. In any given month,
that ends up being more
money than an entire election cycle of
fundraising in 49 of
California's 53 House races." Delivery drivers
and cyclists were forced
to use Yes on Prop 22-branded packaging while
the apps themselves
badgered workers and even the people using them
for rides and delivery
to
vote Yes.
The network companies hired 19 public relations
firms to work on
the Yes campaign, some of which were already
notorious for having been
paid to prettify and defend Big Tobacco. The
network companies bought
civil society organizations to promote Prop 22
as something progressive
with a human face. For example, they made a
"donation" of $85,000 to a consulting firm run
by Alice Huffman, former
head of California's National Association for
the Advancement of
Coloured People (NAACP). The network companies
used the NAACP
"endorsement" to present Prop 22 as something
positive for the
descendants of African chattel slavery, further
confusing the issue for
many in California.
The PR firms with their vast connections in the
mass media blanketed
the state with Vote Yes on Prop 22 propaganda.
The Vote Yes campaign
bought digital, television, radio, and billboard
ads, and paid for
academic research suggesting workers would be
better off without their
rights codified in law. Uber and Lyft's chief
executives
undertook a media tour featuring threats to exit
the state if Prop 22
failed to pass. In the end, according to a poll,
over 40 per cent of
those who voted yes said they did so thinking it
was a vote in defence
of workers' rights and well-being. The workers
however have not been
deterred from their struggle. They continue to
fight and organize, not
only for their rights as workers but also as
women and immigrants, who
constitute a large portion of the workforce.
The Prop 22 referendum was imperialist
democracy on ugly display
using money and mass media to bring into being
legislation of, by and
for powerful private interests. The demand to
have the right to put
referendums on the ballot in California was part
of efforts by the
people to have a say in legislation. However, as
written, it does not
prevent the type of massive corrupt moneyed
campaign to vote Yes for
Prop 22 that took place. The same money and
electoral system that
pushed through Prop 22 pushes the two main
parties of the rich -- the
Democrats and Republicans -- into government in
California and
throughout the United States.
The fight against Prop 22 and for the rights of
network company
workers brought to the fore the problems with
the existing electoral
system and the need for democratic renewal. The
fact that the drivers
took their stand and fought against Prop 22
shows their recognition of the need to
have more of a say in political affairs and to
block the giant
monopolies from manipulating the public. Their
continuing struggle
shows they are rejecting efforts by the
monopolies to define who they
are and what their rights are.
The existing electoral process routinely
excludes large numbers of
workers, such as immigrants who are
undocumented, those in prison,
those not registered, etc. For Prop 22, an
estimated 32 per cent of the
voting age population secured its passage.
Another 22 per cent voted no
and the remaining 56 per cent did not vote --
meaning the large
majority did not support it. Similar figures
exist for statewide and
federal elections, where presidents are elected
with about 25 per cent
of the vote. It is not a process that represents
the people, their
concerns or solutions. The drivers, along with
the millions opposing
racist police killings, separation of immigrant
families, fighting for
equality and
justice indicate that the people are fighting
for control over their
lives and for a political system that embodies
that.
Note
Results of California Vote
on Proposition 22 in November 3, 2020
Election
Voters must be eligible to vote
in California election and register to vote 15
days prior to the vote.
Proposition 22 -- App-Based
Drivers and Employee Benefits -- For and
Against
Yes (for) = 9,874,555 58.6 per
cent of voters
No (against) = 6,979,133 41.4
per cent of voters
Total voters = 16,853,688
California population 2019 =
39,512,223
California population 18 years
and older = 30,621,973 (77.5 per cent)
Total voters on Prop 22 as
percentage of population 18 years and older =
55 per cent
Total voters voting Yes on Prop
22 as percentage of California population 18
years and older = 32 per cent
Total voters voting No on Prop
22 as percentage of California population 18
years and older = 22.8 per cent
October 1, 2019 -- 20,328,636
Californians registered to vote.
Registered voters as percentage
of California population 18 years and older =
66 per cent
Number of persons not
registered to vote but 18 years and older =
10,293,337
The California Secretary of
State says that the number of Californians
registered to vote as percentage of eligible
voters = 80.65 per cent
This means that the state's
estimate of eligible voters = 25,205,996
California population 18 years
and older = 30,621,973
California population 18 years
and older not officially recognized as
eligible to vote = 5,415,977
To be officially eligible to
vote a person must be:
- A
United States citizen and a resident of
California,
- 18 years old or older on Election Day,
- Not currently in state or federal prison or
on parole for the conviction of a felony (for
more information on the rights of people who
have been incarcerated, please see the
Secretary of State's Voting Rights: Persons
with a Criminal History), and
- Not currently found mentally incompetent to
vote by a court (for more information, please
see Voting Rights: Persons Subject to
Conservatorship).
For the complete text of
Proposition 22 click
here.
This article was published in
Number 82 - December 3, 2020
Article Link:
Corrupt Electoral Process to Ensure Government of Powerful Private Interests
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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