By Educational funding, environment protection, criminal punishment and minimum wage were among the 10 issues addressed in California’s 2024 election cycle.
The morning after election day, three students shared their voting choices and thoughts on the legislation shaping California’s future.
Full-time worker and English master’s student at CSULB, Alisa Lucero stressed the failure of California Proposition 33 as the most detrimental result to her.
According to AP news, 61.3% of constituents voted no for the proposition, as of Nov. 9.
The ballot measure sought to repeal a 1995 law that limits the power local government holds to pass rent control laws. If passed, Prop 33 would have allowed cities and counties to control the cost of housing and limit how much a landlord is allowed to increase rent.
Lucero and her family rent locally. Every single year, she said, their landlord raises the rent to the maximum amount that they can.
“I have to see my family struggle every single time the first of the month comes around – pulling from their paychecks, getting loans…” Lucero said.
Recently, Lucero’s mother, who she calls the “strongest person ever,” beat stage 2 breast cancer.
Together, the two work at the same warehouse which Lucero describes as stressful, with non-stop walking eight to 10 hours a day.
“I don’t know how she holds it together,” Lucero said, as she spoke about her mother. “The chemotherapy left her bones brittle, I think it’s called osteoporosis – she has a severe case. She can hardly walk, she spends her time putting her feet in salt water.”
Additionally, Lucero said that her father is unable to work, due to his poor health and a history of incarceration.
“My dad is a wreck, I won’t lie,” Lucero said, as she discussed her father’s health. “My dad can’t really work because of his own health issues, and he only knows physical labor, he has no experience anywhere else. The only jobs available to him are physical, he was in prison.”
Working full-time in addition to her masters program, Lucero assists with keeping her family financially afloat. Lucero said it would have meant so much for Prop 33 to pass.
“I have a dream of owning a house, or some sort of property,” Lucero said. “I just think about the future, and how unfair it is. In a country full of diversity and different circumstances, I would think that it would be acknowledged, but nope.”
In addition to Proposition 33, Lucero discussed Prop 6, which sought to ban involuntary servitude as a form of punishment by introducing an amendment to Article 1, Section 6 of the California Constitution.
As of Nov. 8, 54.4% of California voters voted no on the measure, according to AP News.
Lucero said that the debate around involuntary servitude being unethical left her lost.
“I hadn’t heard of that, in terms of my own family. Last time my dad was in prison, he worked in a fire camp and was a baker,” Lucero said.
As she discussed her family’s history with incarceration, Lucero said that her brother recently got sentenced to 20 years in prison, and that he was taking classes to lessen his sentence and get his degree.
Another proposition of discussion within the Beach landscape was California Proposition 3, which passed with 61.6% according to AP News as of Nov. 8.
By making amends to the language within the California Constitution that states marriage is only between and woman, the measure recognizes the right to marry, regardless of race or sex.
Sitting together in the courtyard of the University Student Union were first-year pre-psych majors Linda Ramirez and Lianna Martinez, who both voted yes on the proposition.
“I was looking at all of them, and that one stood out because I am gay, so I was like, that would really affect me if I wasn’t allowed to get married to anyone,” Ramirez said. “I felt like it was really personal.”
Before the election, Ramirez said that she had anxieties within her family structure. Though her family does know her sexual orientation, Ramirez said she wanted to know if they would vote for her and her right to marriage.
Ramirez said she was really relieved the prop got passed, despite the presidential election not going the way she had hoped.
Like Ramirez, the proposition was important and personal to Martinez, who also identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Beyond her own future, Martinez said that the proposition holds value for people who want to come to California to get married.
“I think that it’s a good statement that even though it’s been repressed against us, we can still conquer it legislatively through our system,” Martinez said. “We can continue to fight for things that are important to us.”
