Election results are in, was your voice heard?

COURTESY // canva.com

Last week, citizens all across the United States went to the polls to vote and have their voice heard in the midterm election. As usual, all House of Representatives seats were up for election as well as 35 Senate seats. Results are not final yet, but with a majority of votes counted, many races have been called.

Democrats now control the Senate, with 50 seats. One seat is still up in the air until Georgia’s runoff election in early December. If the Republican candidate wins the runoff election, Democrats will still have a majority, since the tying vote goes to Vice President Kamala Harris. 

In California, voters reelected Gavin Newsom and he will remain Governor of California, serving another four year term. 

California also voted on many different propositions in this midterm election. According to the Associated Press, California voters voted yes on Proposition 28 increasing spending on art programs in the U.S. This means that an estimated $1 billion will be set aside for funding music and arts education. 

Both propositions involving sports betting failed to pass, as well as a proposition that would’ve imposed a tax to support the purchase of electric vehicles. Proposition 29, which would have regulated staffing at kidney dialysis clinics also did not pass. This is good news as the proposition would have required clinics to hire more physicians, which would increase costs and could cause reduced hours or clinic closures.  

A majority of California voted yes on Proposition 31, upholding state laws that ban the sale of flavored tobacco. This protects the youth in California since many kids who start using tobacco start with a flavored product. According to Cal Matters, “This law would prevent companies from targeting kids and teens with advertising for flavored products.” 

Arguably, one of the most important propositions on California’s ballot this year was Proposition 1, which guarantees abortion rights in the state constitution. California voted yes for Proposition 1, securing the right to abortion and contraceptives. The overturning of Roe v. Wade in June left it up to individual states to decide whether abortion is legal or not. 

California was one of five states that had abortion referendums on the ballot. California, Michigan and Vermont all voted yes on adding explicit protection to abortion access. Kentucky voted no on amending their constitution to state that there is no right to abortion, which would have allowed for more restrictions. According to the New York Times, the measure in Montana “would criminalize health care providers who do not attempt life-saving care when an abortion results in a live birth, a very rare circumstance.” A majority of Montana’s citizens voted no on this measure.

SSU senior, Jessica Valdez, who was nominated to represent Sonoma State at a White House roundtable discussion with the Vice President to discuss abortion rights, said in an interview with SSU news, “It’s very terrifying when someone doesn’t have control over their own body. And taking abortion rights away means people are no longer in control of their own bodies. Simple as that. Abortion is a survival tool. And a lot of birthing people around the country suddenly don’t have access to that basic right anymore.”

The outcomes of these elections impact millions of people, so it is important to get out there and vote, even for midterm elections. According to day-after estimates from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), “27% of young people (ages 18-29) turned out to vote in the 2022 midterm election.” This is likely the second highest turnout rate for young voters since 2018’s historic 31% turnout rate.