{"id":283011,"date":"2026-04-24T01:33:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/283011\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T01:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:33:22","slug":"competing-uber-ballot-measures-could-go-before-california-voters-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/283011\/","title":{"rendered":"Competing Uber ballot measures could go before California voters in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Uber-backed ballot initiative, as well as a counter initiative, are on track to appear in front of voters on the November ballot<\/p>\n

SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 California voters could face two competing ballot measures tied to rideshare giant Uber in the November 2026 election, setting up a high-stakes fight over passenger safety and legal limits in accident cases.<\/p>\n

The company is backing a proposal<\/a> called the \u201cPreventing Accident Victims from Self-Dealing Attorneys Act,\u201d which would cap attorney fees in auto accident cases at 25%. Supporters say the change would lower costs for consumers and ensure more money goes to victims.<\/p>\n

But that effort is drawing sharp opposition from the group Alliance Against Corporate Abuse, which is advancing a countermeasure focused on sexual assault prevention in rideshare services. AACA initially had three countermeasures to oppose Uber\u2019s efforts, but spokesperson Alex Stack tells ABC10 the group is now just focused on one seeking to protect sexual assault victims as to better focus resources.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the countermeasure gathered at the state Capitol Thursday morning to promote the \u201cSexual Assault Against Rideshare Passengers and Drivers Prevention and Accountability Act.\u201d The proposal would require Uber to follow the same safety standards as taxis, buses and trains, and increase accountability in sexual assault cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia voters stand ready and willing to protect victims of sexual assault,\u201d Valerie McGinty of Fund Her, a political action committee that works to elect women to office, said during the presser conference said.<\/p>\n

Danielle Tudahl, a survivor of sexual harassment, including on Uber rides, said the measure would push for \u201cimplementing the strongest background checks, real safety measures and real transparency when harm happens on the app.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tudahl recalled an experience of her own, in which she said the driver asked questions, \u201cLike, do you have a boyfriend? Are you single? Are you staying here by yourself? How old are you? And started responding with extremely inappropriate comments all surrounding how young I looked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attorney Micha Star Liberty, who works with sexual assault victims, said riders depend on the platform\u2019s safety promises.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re relying on an app, a business, a system that has promised them safety,\u201d Liberty said. \u201cSomething feels off. The driver maybe doesn\u2019t match the phone, the route changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alliance Against Corporate Abuse says its measure is a direct response to Uber\u2019s proposal, arguing the company\u2019s plan would make it harder for accident victims to sue.<\/p>\n

Carmen Balber of Consumer Watchdog, a coalition member of the opposition campaign, alleged Uber\u2019s priorities are driven by profit. \u201cBecause Uber\u2019s interest is in keeping as many drivers on the road as possible at all times, no matter how unsafe they are, because it maximizes profits,\u201d Balber said.<\/p>\n

McGinty pointed to reporting from The New York Times cited in the campaign, saying incidents occur frequently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[With their ballot measure, Uber has] had a huge overreach, and what we\u2019re trying to do is actually quite targeted,\u201d McGinty said. \u201cWe\u2019re actually going after a problem they know they have, which is every eight minutes, when you have a sexual assault and you\u2019re getting that reported to you, you need to do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the opposition to the countermeasure criticized the effort, saying, \u201cThis ballot measure is a cynical ploy by billboard lawyers to defeat a separate, Uber-backed ballot measure that would ban predatory schemes targeting auto accident victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ads from both sides reflect the divide. The Uber-backed one says attorneys \u201cmade more than a billion while local taxpayers got screwed,\u201d while the opposition claims, \u201cEvery eight minutes, Uber tries to silence victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

We asked Uber about the safety aspect. A spokesperson<\/a> says its current safety process includes identity verification, driving record checks and reviews of criminal history. The company says applicants can be rejected for offenses including sexual assault, sex crimes involving minors, murder and kidnapping.<\/p>\n

Voters could ultimately decide the fate of both measures if they qualify for the November 2026 ballot. Alliance Against Corporate Abuse says it submitted over 1.1 million voter signatures of support. According to California’s Secretary of State, this initiative needs 546,651<\/a> signatures to qualify for the ballot. A More Affordable California says it’s submitted more than 800,000 voter signatures of support. According to California’s Secretary of State, this initiative needs 874,641<\/a> signatures to qualify for the ballot.<\/p>\n

The debate comes as Uber faces legal challenges over rider safety. A federal jury in North Carolina recently ordered the company to pay a woman who said she was sexually assaulted during a ride. In February, a federal jury in Arizona also ordered Uber to pay a woman who said she was raped during a ride. The company faces thousands of similar assault claims.<\/p>\n

Watch more from ABC10: Advocates push ballot measure to increase Uber passenger safety<\/a><\/p>\n

ABC10: Watch, Download, Read<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/p>\n


\n 1
\n \/
\n 12 \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Uber-backed ballot initiative, as well as a counter initiative, are on track to appear in front of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-283011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}