senator liu voted in favor of california senate constitutional amendment no.5. the proposed bill would have asked california voters to consider repealing provisions of proposition 209, thus permitting state universities to consider an applicant's race, ethnicity or national origin in making admissions decisions. the proposed amendment resulted in controversy. in a facebook response, liu indicated that california proposition 209 set "outdated barriers" to groups of "underrepresented students eligible for u.c. and c.s.u." and that their enrollment "has not kept pace with the proportion of the high school graduating class they now represent." senator liu, along with former senators leland yee and ted lieu, who had also voted for the bill, ultimately issued a joint statement calling for the bill to be withheld pending further consultations with the "affected communities."