The apps told California voters to vote yes on Proposition 22. And the voters listened.
Uber and Lyft spent over $200 million on the ballot measure to keep their drivers classified as independent contractors, but their most effective bit of lobbying may actually have been just a few lines of code.
In the weeks leading up to Election Day, the companies used their respective apps to bombard riders and drivers with messages urging them to vote for Prop 22, the ballot measure. Its victory will set a precedent for other states’ labor laws around gig work, as well as for how huge companies with an easy way to communicate to millions of voters can lobby.
The outcome on Prop 22 was never certain, with polling in the run-up to the election showing the electorate sharply divided over whether Uber and Lyft should treat drivers like employees. Most notably, at least a quarter of voters…