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California General Election
Plain-language summaries of local measures and all 14 statewide propositions, based on official county, city, and Secretary of State sources. Campaign claims are labeled as such. SimpleCity does not recommend how to vote.
Local races
Amends the City Charter to use gender-neutral language, give the Council 60 days instead of 30 to act on filling a Council vacancy, end the requirement to read ordinances and resolutions in full, and let the Council set qualifications for boards, commissions and committees it creates.
Lets the City Council raise Mountain View's Transient Occupancy Tax, paid by hotel and short-term rental guests, from 10% to as much as 15%; the Council would set the actual rate later.
Adds a 0.5% sales tax in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties and a 1% sales tax in San Francisco for 14 years, raising about $980 million a year.
Amends the El Camino Healthcare District's bylaws so no one can serve more than four full four-year terms as a director, ever.
Only on some ballots in Mountain View. Check your sample ballot.
The measures and races on your ballot depend on your address. See your sample ballot at Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters
The state would borrow $11.25 billion for affordable housing: multifamily rental housing, mortgages for veterans, supportive housing, preserving existing affordable homes, and down-payment help.
Creates a state program, funded by up to $25 billion in bonds, that lends buyers up to 17% of the price of a newly built home priced below about $1.5 million.
Changes the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for many housing, transportation, water, and health projects.
Props 40, 41, and 42 are connected. Prop 40 is a tax on wealth whose revenue is exempt from the state spending limit. Props 41 and 42 each cancel taxes passed after January 1, 2026 that have those features, so the Yes on 40 campaign opposes them as attempts to undo Prop 40. Supporters of 41 and 42 describe them as accountability and protection for savings.
Changes the rules so the state builds bigger budget reserves for downturns and keeps making extra debt payments for longer.
Higher income tax rates on people earning over about $371,000 (adjusted for inflation) have been in place since 2012 and are set to expire in 2031.
A one-time tax of 5% of wealth on certain taxpayers with assets over $1 billion, with the money going mainly to health care.
The State Auditor would review programs funded by proposed special taxes before they reach the ballot, and keep reviewing programs funded by new special taxes.
Bans any new state tax on owning personal property (anything other than real estate, including financial assets) and any new state tax that applies retroactively.
Starting January 1, 2027, local special taxes that voters put on the ballot by petition would need two-thirds approval instead of a simple majority.
Lifts California's ban on state and local governments offering public money to candidates' campaigns.
Recall ballots would no longer ask voters who should replace the official.
In-person voters would have to show government-issued ID.
The state would borrow $8.4 billion for immunology and immunotherapy research: half to a single University of California-affiliated nonprofit research institute, and half to research grants.
Penalizes nonprofit community health centers (clinics serving medically underserved areas) that spend less than 90% of their revenue on "program services," including but not limited to patient care.
Read the full text, analysis, and arguments in the Official Voter Information Guide
