California voters firmly reject affirmative action by wide margin

Californians rejected affirmative action at the ballot box Tuesday, voting down a measure that would end a decades-long state ban of the policy.

The measure, known as Proposition 16, would have allowed colleges, employers and contractors to consider race and gender when considering who to hire and ­accept.

A ban of the practice had been instituted in the state in 1996.

The proposition was put on the ballot by the Democratic-controlled state legislature, but had just 44 percent approval, compared to 56 percent who disapproved of the measure, The Associated Press reported.

One of the largest groups to oppose the measure was a network of Asian Americans who argued affirmative action at public colleges and universities in the state would discriminate against young Asian students who score high on tests and earn good grades.

The measure earned its most support in liberal areas of the state like San Francisco and Los Angeles, but failed across other chunks of the Golden State.

Supporters of the measure, including tech companies, celebrities and Democrats poured in tons of money campaigning for it, raising some $31 million.

Supporters had hoped a more diverse electorate in the state would garner popular support for repeal of the ban, which had been signed into law by a Republican governor.

Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank, told AP that he was stunned by the “resounding defeat of the proposition.

“I think it was doing well with white college-educated liberals and . . . You would have found that’s pretty much it. Asians were deeply divided, probably deeply strongly against it, and Latino and African-American voters were relatively indifferent,” Chen said.

With Post wires