A woman donning a graduation gown protests the University of California board of regents' decision to end affirmative action. (Photo by David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images) SAN FRANCISCO - A national awakening on race drove a well-funded, star-studded campaign in California to reinstate affirmative action, but the measure that would allow the nation’s most populated state to grant preferential treatment based on race and gender was failing.“No” votes had 56% of 11 million votes counted so far.