About Us
Who We Are
Empower California Voters is a coalition of elected leaders, and community, environmental and labor organizations joining together to return one of California’s most powerful direct democracy tools - the referendum - to the people.
Last year California took a major step in reforming our broken referendum system with the passage of AB 421, authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D – Culver City)
AB 421 gives voters the tools to understand who is behind a measure. The bill requires the name of the top funders of the referendum to appear in the state voter information guide. Starting on January 1, 2025, the law will require the names of supporters and opponents in the ballot arguments to be printed on the ballot label.
AB 421 clears up ballot confusion. AB 421 proposes a common-sense solution to voter confusion by replacing “yes” and “no” with “keep the law” and “overturn the
law.”
AB 421 matches up rules to withdraw referendums with the rules to withdraw state initiatives, allowing proponents of a referendum to withdraw the measure after the petition and signatures are submitted to elections officials but before the measure
qualifies for the ballot.
Our Coalition, United for Referendum Reform
Author of SB 1337: Senator Gonzalez
Labor & Worker Organizations
- AFSCME California
- California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
- California Conference of Machinists
- California Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
- California Labor Federation
- California Professional Firefighters
- California School Employees Association
- California State Legislative Board, Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation Workers – SMART-TD
- California Teachers Association
- California Teamsters Public Affairs Coucnil
- Central Coast Labor Council
- Engineers and Scientists of California, IFPTE Local 20
- Fight for $15
- Inland Empire Labor Council, AFL-CIO
- KIWA
- LA County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
- Labor Network for Sustainability
- Orange County Labor Federation
- San Mateo Labor Council
- Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition
- SEIU California
- State Building & Construction Trades Council of California
- United Steelworkers District 12
- UNITE HERE!
- Utility Workers Union of America
- Warehouse Worker Resource Center
- Worksafe
Environmental Organizations
- 350 Bay Area Action
- 350 Humboldt
- 350 South Bay Los Angeles
- 350 Southland Legislative Alliance
- 350 Ventura County Climate Hub
- 5 Gyres Institute
- Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
- Asian Pacific Environmental Network
- California Climate Voters
- California Environmental Voters
- California Green New Deal Coalition
- California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
- Californians Against Waste
- CEJA
- Center for Biological Diversity
- Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
- Central California Environmental Justice Network
- Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)
- Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG)
- Climate Hawks Vote
- Communities for a Better Environment
- Communities for a New California Education Fund
- Community Water Center
- Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) – Code Blue
- Environmental Working Group
- Fossil Free California
- Glendale Environmental Coalition
- Greenpeace USA
- Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
- OC Action
- Orange County Environmental Justice
- Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
- Physicians for Social Responsibility-Sacramento
- Resilience Orange County
- Rincon-Vitova insectaries
- Sierra Club California
- SoCal 350 Climate Action
- Stand.earth
- Sunflower Alliance
- USC Environmental Student Assembly.
- Voices in Solidarity Against Oil in Neighborhoods (VISIÓN)
Community & Justice Organizations
- AAPIs for Civic Empowerment-Education Fund
- ACLU California Action
- Active San Gabriel Valley
- ACCE Action
- AHRI for Justice
- Building the California Dream Alliance
- CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
- California Calls
- Catalyst California
- Chinese Progressive Association
- Community Coalition
- Courage CA
- Disability Rights California
- Dolores Huerta Foundation
- Feminists in Action Los Angeles
- Indivisible CA Green Team
- Indivisible CA: StateStrong
- Indivisible East Bay
- Indivisible Euclid
- Indivisible Marin
- Indivisible Mendocino
- Indivisible Northridge
- Indivisible ReSisters Walnut Creek
- Indivisible Sacramento
- Indivisible San Pedro
- Indivisible Sausalito
- Indivisible SF
- Indivisible Stanislaus
- Indivisible Ventura
- Indivisible Yolo
- InnerCity Struggle
- Mothers Out Front
- Oakland Rising
- Orange County Asian & Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA)
- Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO)
- Orange County Environmental Justice
- PICO California
- Presente.org/Alianza Americas
- San Francisco Rising
- SFV Indivsible
- Smart Justice California
- Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE)
- Take back our states
- TechEquity Collaborative
- Tobacco Free Kids
- Together We Will/Indivisible-Los Gatos
- Voices for Progress
- Westside Activists
- Working Partnerships USA
