My ballot cheat sheet
California
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
Election Day, polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; deadline to drop off mail ballots is 8 p.m
Governor
- Xavier Becerra Democrat
- Steve Hilton Republican
U.S. House, your district
Candidates depend on your district. Your county’s sample ballot lists them.
Statewide ballot measures
Prop 1: Veteran and Housing Assistance Programs
YES: supports borrowing $11.25 billion for income-based housing programs, including help for first-time buyers, farmworker housing, and home loans for veterans
NO: opposes this measure, so the state does not borrow the $11.25 billion for these housing programs
Prop 2: Budget Stabilization Account Cap Increase and Gann Limit Changes
YES: supports letting the rainy day fund grow twice as large, sending more capital gains revenue into it, keeping half of those savings for paying down debt through 2040, exempting money going into savings from the spending cap, and letting the governor declare a budget emergency through the May budget update
NO: opposes this amendment, keeping the rainy day fund’s current size limit, the current spending cap rules, and the separate step for declaring a budget emergency
Prop 3: Renew State Income Tax Increase
YES: supports making the higher income tax rates on single filers earning above $361,000 and joint filers above $721,000 permanent, with the money going to K-12 schools and community colleges
NO: opposes this amendment, letting those higher rates expire in 2031 as scheduled
Prop 4: Public Financing of Election Campaigns
YES: supports lifting the ban on taxpayer-funded campaigns, letting the state, counties, districts, and any city set up a public campaign financing program if it chooses to
NO: opposes this measure, keeping the ban, so only charter cities can use public money to fund campaigns
Prop 5: Eliminate State Officer Recall Successor Elections
YES: supports dropping the replacement question from statewide recall ballots, so a recalled office sits empty until the lieutenant governor steps in or a special election is held
NO: opposes the change, keeping the two-part recall ballot, where voters decide both whether to remove the officer and who replaces them
Prop 37: Second Mortgage Homebuyer Program
YES: supports creating a state program offering second mortgages to qualified homebuyers through the California Housing Finance Agency, and letting that agency borrow $25 billion to pay for it
NO: opposes this initiative, so the program is not created and the agency does not borrow the $25 billion
Prop 38: Immunology and Immunotherapy Research
YES: supports borrowing $8.4 billion for immune system research, including a new research institute connected to the University of California and grants to public and nonprofit medical research institutions
NO: opposes this initiative, so the state does not borrow the $8.4 billion or create the new institute
Prop 39: Voter Identification, Citizenship Verification, and Registered Voter List Administration
YES: supports requiring in-person voters to show a government-issued ID and mail-in voters to provide the last four digits of one when they register, plus requiring officials to keep voter rolls current and make a good-faith effort to verify each voter's citizenship
NO: opposes this initiative, keeping the existing law which says voters are not required to present a government-issued ID when voting and voters must attest to their citizenship under penalty of perjury.
Prop 40: One-Time Wealth Tax
YES: supports a one-time 5% tax on California billionaires’ total accumulated wealth to fund state health care programs, food assistance, and public education
NO: opposes this initiative, so no wealth tax is charged
Prop 41: Audits and Spending Cap Rules for Special Taxes
YES: supports requiring an independent audit of any new special tax before voters approve it and every four years after, and closing the workaround that lets some new state taxes escape the spending cap
NO: opposes this initiative, adding no audit requirement and leaving that workaround open
Prop 42: Prohibit New Taxes on Retirement Savings and Personal Assets
YES: supports blocking new taxes on what people own (retirement accounts, personal property, savings) and barring retroactive taxes, for taxes enacted after January 1, 2026
NO: opposes this amendment, adding neither rule, so the state could still create taxes on what people own
Prop 43: Two-Thirds Voter Requirement for Special Taxes
YES: supports requiring two-thirds voter approval for local special taxes put on the ballot by citizens, canceling property-related taxes that passed under the lower threshold, and stopping charter cities from setting real estate transfer taxes above the state rate
NO: opposes this initiative, keeping the simple-majority threshold for citizen-proposed local special taxes and leaving taxes already passed in place
Prop 44: Spending Requirements for Federally Qualified Health Centers
YES: supports requiring federally qualified nonprofit health centers and look-alike clinics to spend at least 90% of their yearly revenue on things that directly serve their mission
NO: opposes this initiative, setting no minimum share these health centers must spend on their mission
Prop 45: Changes to Environmental Review Process for Certain Projects
YES: supports speeding up environmental review for projects the law deems essential, with review deadlines, fewer required alternatives, time limits on lawsuits, and limits on what courts can weigh and order
NO: opposes this initiative, keeping the current environmental review process and the current rules for challenging approvals in court
Also on your ballot
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Controller
Insurance Commissioner
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Treasurer
State Board of Equalization (4 seats)
State Senate
State House
State Supreme Court
Intermediate appellate courts
School boards
Municipal government
Recalls (removal of elected officials from office through a referendum)
Local ballot measures