Voters approve marriage but not minimum wage increase

What many of us missed during this year’s national election is our state election. Like the previous election years, a new series of propositions and laws were proposed to be voted on specifically for California. Those more relevant to us include Prop. 3, Prop. 6, and Prop 32. The results of this ballot have been submitted and revealed, although they are still counting votes, these are what the results look like so far.

Prop 3., a proposal that allows everyone the right to marriage regardless of sex, gender, or race, won approval. To clarify, this proposition means that whatever federal courts say about marriage in the future will not matter because California will have its own laws about marriage.

”I support it,” said CVHS photography teacher Karissa Robinette. “Everyone should be allowed marriage regardless of beliefs. California having this law is important because other states are not as accepting.”

Prop 6. is another proposition seeking to make adjustments to old laws, as its goal was to permanently ban slavery in California, specifically ban forced labor in prisons. Even though no argument was submitted against Prop 6. in the official voter submissions, voters rejected it. 

“I think it’s inhumane to give work to people in prison because they might get very little out of it and still have lots of work to do,” said senior Maria Rizkalla. “But, I can see why it might be good because they might end up causing other problems like getting into fights with other inmates.”

Prop 32. is the most relevant to students, as it would have increased the minimum wage to $18. This affects many of us at the high school with low-paying or minimum-wage jobs, except it did not pass.

“I feel like a raise for workers would be nice but it would probably have an impact on the economy,” said senior Luis Solorzano. “I hope we can find a way to increase minimum wage a decent amount without changing the economy.”

This has been a common concern with the opposition to Prop 32. With inflation as a concern, it is uncertain what the effects on the economy would have been if voters approved this proposition.