Last year, California’s Proposition 16 looked to many like a train coming downgrade. For the record: 11:56 AM, Jan. 12, 2021An earlier version of this commentary stated a post-election poll was conducted by the Institute for Governmental Studies. The organization was not involved in that poll. We regret the error. The November ballot measure — which would have authorized the state to engage in preferential treatment based on race, sex or ethnicity — had legions of endorsements from corporate titans like Facebook, Wells Fargo and United Airlines. And its supporters were flush with cash, enabling them to outspend the opposition more than 15 to 1. But after the ballots were all counted, Proposition 16 garnered only 42.8 percent of the vote — a crushing defeat.