Young California voters strongly back Proposition 40, the proposed one-time billionaire tax, but they make up a much smaller share of the people likely to vote on Nov. 3, CalMatters reported.
Why it matters: A new Citrin-POLITICO poll found 46% of likely voters support Prop 40 and 43% oppose it, leaving it short of a majority as ballots arrive, SFist reported. Youth turnout could decide it.
What Prop 40 would do
Prop 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of the state's roughly 200 billionaires, according to SFist. Propositions 41 and 42 are countermeasures on the same ballot.
The age gap
In a September Public Policy Institute of California survey, 76% of likely voters ages 18 to 29 supported the tax. That compared with 59% of middle-aged voters and 36% of those 55 and older, CalMatters reported.
But turnout tilts older. Adults 18 to 29 are 30% of California's adult population and only 21% of likely voters. Adults 55 and older are 36% of the adult population and nearly 50% of expected voters, according to the reports.
What young voters say
"I think it's pretty obvious that older people tend to own property or tend to be wealthier than Gen Z," Stanley Shi, a 19-year-old UC Irvine student, told CalMatters. "Meanwhile, I own nothing."
CalMatters also found Gen Z support for Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor, to be lukewarm.
What's next
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.