These last couple months, I’ve been writing on the internet arguing for the passage of California’s Proposition 24. Polls show we have one of the closest races of any California initiative, and nobody can say what the outcome will be on Tuesday. However, I have to say that my colleagues and I on the Yes campaign have been extremely heartened by the outpouring of support we’ve seen, especially from working Californians. These are teachers, healthcare workers, community organizers and civil servants who understand the dire situation California’s budget is in, and know that we need Proposition 24 to avoid things getting even worse.

A brief recap: in 2009, as part of a contentious budget deal, three new corporate tax loopholes were signed into law in California. As they are implemented, these giveaways will cost Californians $1.3 billion a year. The loopholes benefit large multistate corporations, not small business. Corporations can receive the breaks without hiring any new California workers; they can even ship Californians’ jobs overseas and still get a tax cut. Proposition 24 was placed on the November ballot to repeal these loopholes and make sure the corporations pay their fair share.

We’ve had an expensive campaign, and there’s been a lot of misinformation put out there. The main committee opposing Proposition 24, which attempts to mislead you into thinking its donors are small businesses, when in reality they get their money from well-heeled corporate giants like NewsCorp and Pfizer. That committee is on track to spend at least $15 million against us, according to the most recent finance reports. Of course, $15 million is chump change for a group of Fortune 500 companies, many of whom pay their CEOs at least that amount every year.

If they win, their millions of dollars will have earned more pink slips for California teachers. Their millions of dollars will have cost more working families in California their childcare. And their millions of dollars will put every aspect of our safety net back on the chopping board. Perhaps worst of all, their millions of dollars will not put a single Californian back to work.

We don’t expect the upcoming budget processes to be easy. We don’t expect to have the resources we need to provide every service and job that hardworking Californians deserve. But we do know that $1.3 billion will help us, and corporate tax loopholes will not. I want to thank all of you who have read my posts this election season, and I would make one final request: please vote Yes on 24, and please stress to your friends exactly how important winning this one is. We haven’t gotten the same amount of media coverage as some other campaigns, but we’re all going to be affected by the outcome of this race. Thank you, and please cast your ballot on November 2.