00:00There are just two weeks left to go before Election Day, and California voters have been
00:03returning their ballots by mail or dropping them off at drop boxes. If you want to vote in person,
00:08you can still do it through the evening of November 3rd. Two of the most widely known
00:13and consequential ballot initiatives are Proposition 39, which is the voter ID initiative,
00:18and Proposition 40, which is the so-called billionaire tax. These are very controversial,
00:22and they are being contested very heavily on both sides, both yes and no in both cases.
00:28Citroen Politico came out with a poll this week showing where the electorate currently stands,
00:33and right now, 46% of voters say they back the so-called billionaire tax, Proposition 40.
00:3943% oppose it. That's right around the poll's margin of error, and on the surface, that looks good for
00:45proponents of the billionaire tax. But 46% is below 50%, and generally, if you want a proposition to
00:51pass, you have to be above the 50% threshold. So actually, these poll results are disappointing,
00:57or at least concerning, for people who want to see the billionaires give up 5% of their wealth.
01:01Likewise, on the voter ID initiative, right now, the no vote on voter ID is at 51% in the
01:07poll,
01:08and the yes vote is only at 42% among likely voters. That does suggest that voter ID is going
01:13to have a tough climb if it's going to come out ahead on November 3rd. California voters do like
01:19the idea of showing ID to vote. They just don't like it when it's a Republican proposal,
01:23and the opponents of Proposition 39 have managed to frame it exactly that way.
01:27These results will be very interesting, and they could determine the future of politics in our
01:32state, as well as the future of the entrepreneurial culture that has brought billions of dollars into
01:37state coffers and created the startup culture we know and love.
