[michaelpb]

If it makes you feel any better about the public, according to a poll shortly after[1] ~40% of people voting Yes on Prop 22 self-reported that they thought they were voting for the option that would classify drivers with more benefits. This means a majority of people voting intended to give or maintain more regulations and benefits. However, Uber/Lyft ran the most expensive campaign in California history, burning through 200+ million dollars to confuse the issue, and causing many voters (23%) to vote Yes instead of No.

This is a clear corporate-money-dictating-politics thing. I used to joke that if the self-driving car thing doesn't pan out, there's a always a consultancy pivot ready for Uber. "Don't like a law? Have some taxes due? No sweat, for $20/vote we can make those pesky taxes disappear!"

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/17/uber-ly... - Anecdotally confirmed to me with some canvassing last year as well, many (easily more than 23%) were going to vote "Yes" since they misinterpreted the question to be the exact opposite