California voters will render a verdict Tuesday on Proposition 16, a controversial ballot measure that would repeal Proposition 209 (1996), which says that the state cannot discriminate or grant preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public employment, education or contracting.

When Prop 209 was first passed, it spurred a legal challenge, but the Ninth Circuit held that the state could constitutionally ban the use of race as a basis of preferential treatment in public employment, education or contracting.

Supporters of Prop 16 argue that by allowing the government to consider race and gender in college admissions and public employment, the state can better address issues of systemic racism and racial and gender pay disparities. Its critics argue that Prop 209 forced the state to do a better job addressing the root problems of racism. Opponents of the proposition also include several Asian American civil rights organizations, who argue that Prop 16 would discriminate against Asian American students who are statistically overrepresented in the University of California system.

Current polling suggests voter skepticism of Prop 16. A recent UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll shows that 37 percent of Californians support the measure, 49 percent oppose, and 13 percent are undecided.