California Proposition 40: AP Still Has Not Called It, No Leads at About 55.3%, Reuters Says Billionaire Tax Looks Headed for Defeat
CALIFORNIA — The Associated Press elections page's latest snapshot showed California Proposition 40 — a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1 billion — still too early to call: No had 4,406,080 votes and Yes had 3,566,789 votes, or about 55.3% against and 44.7% in favor, with 61.41% of precincts reporting and an estimated 61.42% of the vote counted. The figures are a counting snapshot, not a final result, and the AP has not declared a winner.
Reuters reported on November 4 that the measure, championed by progressives including Senator Bernie Sanders as an antidote for economic inequality, looked headed for defeat, though counting continued and no major outlet had yet called the outcome. Reuters noted that Governor Gavin Newsom himself opposed the measure; in its November 4 morning snapshot, opposition stood at 55.6%, with the measure drawing only a razor-thin majority in Los Angeles County, the state's largest, while trailing by double-digit margins in each of the next six largest counties. Reuters added that the competing Proposition 42 had won about 4.1 million votes in the morning snapshot, more than Proposition 40's roughly 3.4 million Yes votes, while voters separately approved Proposition 3, making higher income tax rates permanent for the state's top earners, according to an AP call. Aimed at the assets of an estimated 250 California billionaires, Proposition 40's apparent defeat would be a blow to the Democratic Party's left wing even as Democrats swept Republicans nationally, Reuters said.
Source: Associated Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于萨克拉门托的加州议会大厦。Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Photo: The California State Capitol in Sacramento. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
