California Proposition 209 (1996)

From Ballotpedia

Proposition 209 November 5, 1996 general election ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment. It amended the California Constitution to prohibit public institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity. It had been supported by the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign, led by University of California Regent Ward Connerly, and opposed by pro-affirmative action advocacy groups.

Election results

California Proposition 209 (1996)
		Percentage
Yes		54%
No		46%
Total votes		100%

Background

Controversy

On 27 November 1996, U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson blocked enforcement of California's Proposition 209. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently overturned that ruling.

Graduation Rates Rise

Since the passage of Proposition 209, higher graduation rates have been posted at University of California schools, which led opponents of affirmative action to suggest a causal link between Proposition 209 and a better-prepared student body. The African American graduation rate at the University of California, Berkeley increased by 6.5 percent, and rose even more dramatically, from 26 percent to 52 percent, at the University of California, San Diego.

While African American graduation rates at UC Berkeley increased by 6.5 percent, the enrollment rates dropped significantly. In fact, opponents of Proposition 209 claim there are greater disparities in elite education in the post-Proposition 209 era due to decreased African American and Latino enrollment. Proponents, on the other hand, note that Asian American enrollment rates dramatically increased at a majority of UC campuses.

Text

The passage of Proposition 209 amended the California Constitution to include a new section (Section 31 of Article I), which reads:

(a) The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

(b) This section shall apply only to action taken after the section's effective date.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting bona fide qualifications based on sex which are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as invalidating any court order or consent decree which is in force as of the effective date of this section.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting action which must be taken to establish or maintain eligibility for any federal program, where ineligibility would result in a loss of federal funds to the state.

(f) For the purposes of this section, "state" shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the state itself, any city, county, city and county, public university system, including the University of California, community college district, school district, special district, or any other political subdivision or governmental instrumentality of or within the state.

(g) The remedies available for violations of this section shall be the same, regardless of the injured party's race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin, as are otherwise available for violations of then-existing California antidiscrimination law.

(h) This section shall be self-executing. If any part or parts of this section are found to be in conflict with federal law or the United States Constitution, the section shall be implemented to the maximum extent that federal law and the United States Constitution permit. Any provision held invalid shall be severable from the remaining portions of this section.

Support

Supporters of Proposition 209 contended that existing affirmative action programs led public employers and universities to reject applicants based on their race, and that Proposition 209 would "restore and recreate the historic Civil Rights Act."

Organizations supporting Proposition 209 included:

Opposition

Opponents of Proposition 209 argued that it would end affirmative action practices of tutoring, mentoring, outreach and recruitment of women and minorities in California universities and businesses.

Organizations opposing Proposition 209 included: