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Indybay Feature

11/8/16 Election: Labor’s Gains and Lessons

by Stop War and Fascism
California, a bellwether state, approved Prop 64, legalizing marijuana for recreational use, as did Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada. Medical marijuana was approved in Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota. 8 states have legalized marijuana and 28 states have medical marijuana. California has passed the pro-death penalty acceleration Prop 66 and defeated Prop 62, which would have abolished the death penalty. San Francisco, Oakland and Albany have passed the extremely regressive and reactionary grocery tax which will cause our grocery prices to go up in this expensive area, making life worse for the workingclass since the grocery store owners who are the distributors of soda pop, can and will pass the soda tax on to any item in their store. The Democratic Party supported this viciously anti-workingclass grocery tax which goes directly into the general fund to be used as a slush fund to reward their cronies.
We can thank the Democratic Party, which has dominated the California Legislature for all but 4 years since 1959 and the Governor’s office for 25 years since 1959 for this acceleration of the death penalty. In memory is Democratic Governor Gray Davis campaigning as a pro-death penalty candidate, and winning. Barbaric is the description of both the Democratic and Republican parties. We now face a slaughterhouse at San Quentin’s execution chamber as California proceeds to execute the 741 people on California’s death row. This could all have been avoided if Democratic Governor Jerry Brown had just abolished the death penalty, without the onerous life without the possibility of parole and mandatory restitution that were included in Prop 62. He could still do just that. Most of the world, not just the industrialized world, has abolished the death penalty and Governor Brown claims to be anti-death penalty.

Elections only confirm the class struggle that has preceded them, if any. They do not change anything. The presidential election in a large country like the United States is a referendum on the economy. We have massive poverty in every big city, all dominated by the Democrats, with no serious program to eliminate poverty. That is why the Democrats lost the presidency.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The United States has a population of 318 million, including 69 million children, with a net adult population of 248 million, of whom 93%, 230 million, are citizens. About 50%, around 100 million citizen adults, never vote in any election and those non-voters are overwhelmingly the workingclass, the 80% of us who sell our labor for less than $80,000 a year. Part of the reason for non-voting is disaffection from the political system and part, perhaps most of the reason for not voting is insufficient education to understand the ballot. In San Francisco, we had 25 County propositions and 17 California propositions, plus many people running for office. Understanding these propositions takes a higher than average level of education, and the existence of most of these propositions on the ballot means we have a non-functioning government. All of the money measures exist because the state legislature is not taxing the 663,000 millionaire households including 124 billionaires in California sufficiently to pay the bills so as to have a large enough general fund, paid for with the progressive income tax. San Francisco has 147,400 millionaires and 26 billionaires. The majority of voters in California, and similarly in the rest of the country, are property owners who make more than $80,000 a year. For more, see http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/jtf/JTF_LikelyVotersJTF.pdf

In this election, about 118 million voted, of whom, 58,842,280 voted for the millionaire fascist warmonger Republican (former longtime Democrat and Democratic Party contributor) Donald Trump and 58,875,708 voted for the millionaire fascist warmonger Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump won 276 Electoral college votes and Clinton won 218 Electoral College votes. Clinton won the popular vote so far, but lost the Electoral College vote. See http://www.politico.com/2016-election/results/map/president?lo=ut_b1

It is the Electoral College that elects the president, according to the US Constitution. It consists of 538 electors, corresponding to 435 representatives, 100 senators and 3 for the District of Columbia. For all states, except the small states of Maine and Nebraska, it is a winner-take-all system. Thus, for example, since California has a high Democratic voter registration and regularly gives 60% of its votes to the Democratic presidential candidate, it is guaranteed that all of its 55 Electoral Colleges votes go to the Democratic presidential candidate. For more on this undemocratic institution, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_(United_States)

Socialist Gloria LaRiva was on the ballot in California, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, New Jersey. New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington. She was on the ballots used by 20.9% of the US voters. See
http://ballot-access.org/2016/09/25/gloria-la-riva-ballot-status-exceeds-evan-mcmullins-ballot-status/
This is a major advance for any socialist candidate since everyone over age 35, and especially over age 45, the majority of voters, remembers the horrifying anti-Communist hysteria in this backward country that prevailed from 1946 through 1991, with a decline after 1980, ending with the end of the Soviet Union and most of the socialist world in 1991. It means we are in a Great Depression similar to the 1930s, when support of the socialist world was open and broad among the workingclass, in our demand for an end to the nightmare of capitalism and its wars and poverty.

Jill Stein and the Green Party were on the ballot in 47 states plus DC, ballots used by 89.4% of US voters. See http://www.jill2016.com/ballot_access

CALIFORNIA
California has a population of 39 million people, of whom 9 million are children, with a net of 30 million adults, of whom 87%, 26 million, are citizens. In a high voter turnout presidential election, about 13 million people vote. Voter registration as of October 24, 2016, the 15 days-before-election report, for Peace & Freedom Party is 75,640; for the Green Party is 94,647; for the Democrats is 8.7 million; for the Republicans is 5 million and for No Party Preference, most of whom vote Democrat, is 4.7 million. See : http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/voter-registration-statistics/

Since 1992, California has given its 55 Electoral College votes to the Democratic presidential candidate in the winner-take-all system. The vote ranged from 46% to 60% for the Democrats and 32% to 44% for the Republican presidential candidate.
See: http://www.270towin.com/states/California and http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-pol-ca-california-voting-history/ and http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2013/nov/10/george-will/george-will-paints-dire-electoral-picture-gop-says// and http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1992 http://cookpolitical.com/assets/public/documents/presidential-voting-by-state.pdf

Thus, there is no excuse in California for voting for the evil Democrat-Republicans, and since it is always a downward spiral to play games with your vote and an insult to the concept of democracy, there is never any excuse for voting for evil.

California again gave the Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, 60% of the vote, 3,556,000 million votes, and the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, 34% of the vote, 2,022,000 million votes with 52% of precincts reporting. Peace & Freedom Party candidate Gloria La Riva so far has 23,568 votes and Green Party candidate Jill Stein so far has 89,482 votes with 52% of precincts reporting. This will increase in number within the next 29 days of counting. For all presidential candidate election results, see http://www.politico.com/2016-election/results/map/president/california/
and http://vote.sos.ca.gov/
See Election Results for the state and county propositions at at http://graphics.latimes.com/la-na-pol-2016-election-results-california/
The Secretary of State of California. Alex Padilla, a Democrat, for the first time in memory, did not have any election results for the current election on the Secretary of State website until sometime in the morning of November 9, 2016. It was always ready the day before election day. Giving the information to a private profit newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, is a form of contracting out. We can now access that site as follows:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/
Then down the left side on the middle, click Election Results at http://vote.sos.ca.gov/
Then near the top on the left side, click County Reporting Status at http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/status/ where as of 11/9/16 at 10:24 a.m., some 9,962,000 ballots were cast. This count may increase to 13 million ballots.
Then click the return arrow to return to the main Semi-Official Results page. Click Maps near the top in the center to see how the president to get http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/
To see how the president, US Senate and state propositions did by county.

Propositions: http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/

Prop 51: School bonds: Includes funding for charter schools, always anti-union and anti-education
Yes: 54%
No: 46%
Prop 52: Medi‐Cal Hospital Fee Program
Yes: 69%
No.:30%
Prop 53: Revenue Bonds.
Yes: 48
No: 51%
Prop 54: Prohibits Legislature from passing any bill unless published on Internet for 72 hours before vote. Requires Legislature to record its proceedings and post on Internet. Authorizes use of recordings.
Yes: 64%
No: 35%
Prop 55: Tax Extension to Earnings Over $250,000 To Fund Education And Healthcare.
Yes: 62%
No: 37%
Prop 56: $2 Increase in Cigarette Tax
Yes: 62%
No: 37%
Prop 57: Allows Parole Consideration For Nonviolent Felons.
Yes: 63%
No: 36%
Prop 58: English Proficiency. Multilingual Education
Yes: 72%
No: 27%
Prop 59: Advisory Measure: Asks whether California's elected officials should use their authority to propose and ratify an amendment to the federal Constitution overturning the United States Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Citizens United ruled that laws placing certain limits on political spending by corporations and unions are unconstitutional.
Yes: 52%
No: 47%
Prop 60: Requires adult film performers to use condoms during filming of sexual intercourse. Requires producers to pay for performer vaccinations, testing, and medical examinations. Requires producers to post condom requirement at film sites.
Yes: 46%
No: 53%
Prop 61: Prohibits state from buying any prescription drug from a drug manufacturer at price over lowest price paid for the drug by United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Yes: 46%
No: 53%
Prop 62: Repeals death penalty and replaces it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole. If both Prop 62 and Prop 66 pass, the measure with more votes will take effect.
Yes: 46%
No: 53%
Prop 63: Requires background check and Department of Justice authorization to purchase ammunition. Prohibits possession of large–capacity ammunition magazines. Establishes procedures for enforcing laws prohibiting firearm possession by specified persons. Requires Department of Justice's participation in federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Yes: 62%
No: 37%
Prop 64: Legalizes marijuana under state law, for use by adults 21 or older. Imposes state taxes on sales and cultivation. Provides for industry licensing and establishes standards for marijuana products. Allows local regulation and taxation.
Yes: 55%
No: 44%
Prop 65: Redirects money collected by grocery and certain other retail stores through mandated sale of carryout bags. Requires stores to deposit bag sale proceeds into a special fund to support specified environmental projects.
• Proposition 67 (Referendum) Receives More Votes. In this situation, revenue collected by the stores would be kept by the stores and there would not be a fiscal impact on the state related to Proposition 65.
• Proposition 65 (Initiative) Receives More Votes. In this situation, any revenue collected by stores from the sale of carryout bags would be transferred to the new state fund, with the increased state revenue used to support certain environmental programs.
Yes: 44%
No: 55%
Prop 66: Accelerates Promotion of Death Penalty. If both Prop 62 and Prop 66 pass, the measure with more votes will take effect.
Yes: 51%
No: 48%
Prop 67: A "Yes" vote approves, and a "No" vote rejects, a statute that prohibits grocery and other stores from providing customers single–use plastic or paper carryout bags but permits sale of recycled paper bags and reusable bags.
• Proposition 67 (Referendum) Receives More Votes. In this situation, revenue collected by the stores would be kept by the stores and there would not be a fiscal impact on the state related to Proposition 65.
• Proposition 65 (Initiative) Receives More Votes. In this situation, any revenue collected by stores from the sale of carryout bags would be transferred to the new state fund, with the increased state revenue used to support certain environmental programs.
Yes: 55%
No: 44%

County honor roll: 50% or more passing Prop 62, abolishing death penalty:
70% San Francisco
67% Marin
62% Santa Cruz
61% Alameda
57% San Mateo
57% Imperial
55% Sonoma
54% Santa Clara
54% Yolo
51% Contra Costa
51% Monterey
50% Mendocino
50% Santa Barbara

County honor roll: 50% or more DEFEATING Prop 66, the pro-death penalty proposition:
68% San Francisco
61% Marin
60% Santa Cruz
59% Alameda
58% Mendocino
56% Sonoma
54% San Mateo
54% Yolo
52% Santa Clara
53% Humboldt
53% Monterey
53% Santa Barbara
52% Mono
51% Contra Costa
51% Napa
50% Fresno
50% Mariposa
50% San Benito
50% Sierra
50% Trinity

County honor roll: 50% or more passing Prop 64, legalizing marijuana:
73% San Francisco
71% Santa Cruz
70% Marin
66% Alameda
63% San Mateo
62% Monterey
62% Del Norte
62% Mono
61% Napa
60% Contra Costa
60% Sonoma
60% Santa Barbara
59% Humboldt
59% Yolo
58% Los Angeles
58% Santa Clara
56% Mendocino
56% San Benito
56% San Luis Obispo
56% Solano
55% Ventura
54% Inyo
54% San Diego
52% Nevada
52% Sacramento
51% Plumas
51% Riverside
51% Tuolumne
50% Butte
50% Mariposa
50% Sierra
50% Siskiyou
50% Trinity

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco has a population of 866,000 of whom 121,000 are children with a net adult population of 745,000, of whom 86%, 640,700, are citizens. In a high voter turnout election, about 350,000 people vote. Voter registration in San Francisco as of October 24, 2016, the 15 days-before-election report, for Peace & Freedom Party is 1,398; for the Green Party is 4,797; for the Democrats is 296,772; for the Republicans is 38,279 and for No Party Preference, most of whom vote Democrat, is 158,380. See : http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/voter-registration-statistics/

San Francisco regularly gives 80% of its vote to the leading Democrat on the ballot and has been voting Democrat for president since 1960. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_San_Francisco

For election results as of today, see http://www.sfelections.org/results/20161108/

San Francisco gave Democratic Clinton 84% of the vote and Republican Trump 9% of the vote with 99% precincts reporting and 273,000 votes for all candidates counted. This figure will probably go up to 350,000 in the next 29 days. Peace & Freedom Party candidate Gloria La Riva so far has 1,131 votes and Green Party candidate Jill Stein so far has 6,106 votes.
Voter Handbook Online at: http://voterguide.sfelections.org/en
http://sfgov.org/elections/local-ballot-measure-status
https://ballotpedia.org/San_Francisco_City_and_County,_California_ballot_measures#2016

Prop A: School Bonds. Requires 55% to pass. Tenants can be asked by landlords to pay school bonds.
Yes: 79%
No: 20%
Prop B: City College Parcel Tax. Requires 66-2/3% to pass.
Yes: 79%
No: 20%
Prop C: Loans to Finance Acquisition and Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing. Requires 66-2/3% to pass.
Yes: 75%
No: 24%
Prop D: Vacancy Appointments. Requires 50% plus 1 vote to pass. (This vote demonstrates that there is nothing progressive about San Francisco.)
Yes: 47%
No: 52%
Prop E: Transfer to City from Property Owners the Responsibility for Maintaining Street Trees and Surrounding Sidewalks. Requires 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 78%
No: 21%
Prop F: 16 & 17 Year Old Voting in Local Elections. Requires 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 47%
No: 52%
Prop G: Police Oversight. Requires 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 79%
No: 20%
Prop H: Public Advocate. Requires 50% plus 1 vote to pass. (This vote demonstrates that there is nothing progressive about San Francisco.)
Yes: 47%
No: 53%
Prop I: Funding for Seniors and Adults with Disabilities. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 66%
No: 33%
Prop J: Funding for Homelessness and Transportation. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 66%
No: 33%
Prop K: General Sales Tax Increase to 9.25%, a regressive tax by definition. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 34%
No: 65%
Prop L: Municipal Transportation Agency Appointments and Budget. 50% plus 1 vote to pass. (This vote demonstrates that there is nothing progressive about San Francisco.)
Yes: 44%
No: 55%
Prop M: Housing and Development Commission. 50% plus 1 vote to pass. (This vote demonstrates that there is nothing progressive about San Francisco.)
Yes: 43%
No: 56%
Prop N: Non-Citizen Voting in School Board Elections. 50% plus 1 vote to pass. (This is the 3rd time this is on the ballot.)
Yes: 52%
No: 47%
Prop O: Permanently exempt infamous Lennar Corp’s proposal for new office space on Candlestick Point and most of the former Navy shipyard at Hunters Point from the City’s annual 950,000-square-foot limit, and provide that any new office space in this project area would not count toward the annual limit that applies in the rest of the City. They will provide only 809 such homes, with 1,650 units of rebuilt existing public housing and 900 units at prices above affordable levels. That's the "32% affordable" claimed by the sponsors. The rest of the housing will be priced at luxury prices unable to be afforded by any but 1% of San Franciscans while we have 15,000 homeless in San Francisco and many more living in substandard hotels with the bathroom down the hall, roaches, bed bugs and mice proliferating everywhere and broken elevators. 50% plus 1 vote to pass. . (This vote demonstrates that there is nothing progressive about San Francisco.)
Yes: 52%
No: 47%
Prop P: Phony competitive bidding proposal blocking the construction of affordable housing that is opposed by Prop P's sponsor, the San Francisco Realtors Association. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 32%
No: 67%
Prop Q: Phony proposal to remove tents of the homeless from sidewalks with no permanent affordable housing available. 50% plus 1 vote to pass. . (This vote demonstrates that there is nothing progressive about San Francisco.)
Yes: 52%
No: 47%
Prop R: Phony neighborhood police patrol proposal. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 45%
No: 54%
Prop S: Allocation of Hotel Tax Funds To The Arts And Homeless. 66-2/3% to pass.
Yes: 62%
No: 37%
Prop T: Restricting Gifts and Campaign Contributions from Lobbyists. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 87%
No: 12%
Prop U: Realtors’ Phony Proposal on Affordable Housing, making it Less Affordable. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 35%
No: 64%
Prop V: Grocery Tax Raising Prices on Groceries for Slush Fund, Regressive by Definition. 50% plus 1 vote to pass. (This vote demonstrates that there is nothing progressive about San Francisco.)
Yes: 38%
No: 61%
OAKLAND GROCERY TAX PROP HH
Yes: 61%
No: 38%
ALBANY GROCERY TAX PROP 01
Yes: 72%
No: 28%
THE GROCERY PRICES IN ALL 3 CITIES WILL NOW INCREASE. This anti-workingclass regressive tax was brought to us by the Democratic Party as all of these cities are run by the Democratic Party machine.
Prop W: Real Estate Transfer Tax on Properties Over $5 Million. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 61%
No: 38%
Prop X: Preserving Space for Neighborhood Arts, Small Businesses and Community Services in Certain Neighborhoods. 50% plus 1 vote to pass.
Yes: 59%
No: 40%
Prop RR: Bay Area Rapid Transit District bonds. 66-2/3 vote to pass in San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Below is the San Francisco vote:
Yes: 81%
No: 18%
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