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The average Liberty Score of the delegation is 39 out of 100, an F. 52 of its seats in Congress were decided on November 3, 2026.

Voting in California: how to register, vote early or vote by mail. Election Day was November 3.

Also on California's ballot: 14 propositions, each with what a yes and a no would do.

Who should California send to Congress, and who should it send home?Say what you think. Other readers can answer you.Discuss

On the ballot November 3

52 House seats in California. Tap a race to see the candidates side by side.

14 propositions on California's ballot, November 3

Voters in California decide these 14 themselves on November 3. For each one: what a yes does, what a no does, what it costs, and the state's own page. Where one of my principles already settles a side, I say which and why. What you do with it is up to you.

  • Bond · put on the ballot by the Legislature

    Proposition 1: Authorizes Bonds for Housing Affordability Programs

    If yes wins
    The state can borrow $11.25 billion for housing: rental homes, home loans for veterans, housing with services attached, and help with down payments.
    If no wins
    The state cannot borrow that $11.25 billion.
    What it costs
    Paying the bonds back costs the state $500 million to $600 million a year for about 25 years.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 1The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Constitutional amendment · put on the ballot by the Legislature

    Proposition 2: Increases State’s Rainy Day Fund

    If yes wins
    The state keeps saving until its rainy day fund holds 20 percent of its general tax income, up from 10 percent, and keeps making extra debt payments through 2040 instead of 2030.
    If no wins
    The savings target stays at 10 percent and the extra debt payments stop after 2030.
    What it costs
    The Legislative Analyst gives no dollar figure: reserves would be higher, and the state might pay down more debt.

    Money put into the fund would stop counting against the state's spending limit until it is taken out.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 2The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Constitutional amendment · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 3: Provides Permanent Funding for Schools and Health Care by Extending Existing Tax on High Incomes

    If yes wins
    The higher state income tax rates on people earning over $371,000, in place since 2012, become permanent.
    If no wins
    Those higher rates expire in 2031.
    What it costs
    The state keeps collecting $5 billion to $15 billion a year that it would otherwise stop collecting in 2031.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 3The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Statute · put on the ballot by the Legislature

    Proposition 4: Repeals Prohibition Against Public Funding of Election Campaigns

    If yes wins
    The state and local governments may create programs that pay for candidates' campaigns with public money, though not with money set aside for education, transportation or public safety.
    If no wins
    The state and most local governments stay barred from paying for candidates' campaigns.
    What it costs
    A few hundred thousand dollars a year for state guidance, plus whatever any program a government creates later would cost.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 4The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Constitutional amendment · put on the ballot by the Legislature

    Proposition 5: Changes Recall Election Process for Statewide Officers

    If yes wins
    A recall ballot asks only whether to remove the official, and the empty seat is filled afterward by a special election or an appointment, depending on the office and the timing.
    If no wins
    A recall ballot keeps asking who should take over, on the same ballot.
    What it costs
    Unknown: a recall could cost or save millions of dollars, depending on the office.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 5The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Statute · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 37: Creates Loan Program for Middle-Income Buyers of Qualified New Homes

    If yes wins
    The state sells up to $25 billion in bonds and lends buyers up to 17 percent of the price of a newly built home, and the buyers' payments repay the bonds.
    If no wins
    The state does not have to create the loan program.
    What it costs
    No direct cost to the state or to local governments, because the buyers' payments repay the bonds.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 37The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Bond · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 38: Authorizes Bonds for Immunology Medical Research

    If yes wins
    The state can borrow $8.4 billion for research on the immune system and on treatments that use it, half for one nonprofit institute tied to the University of California and half for research grants.
    If no wins
    The state cannot borrow that $8.4 billion.
    What it costs
    Paying the bonds back costs the state $500 million to $600 million a year for about 20 years, less if the research earns money.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 38The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Constitutional amendment · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 39: Prohibits Citizens from Voting Unless They Present Government-Issued Identification

    If yes wins
    You show government ID to vote in person, you write the last four digits of an ID number on a mail ballot envelope, and election officials have to check that the people on the voter rolls are citizens.
    If no wins
    Your signature stays the way your identity is checked.
    What it costs
    Tens of millions to low hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the state and local governments.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 39The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Constitutional amendment and statute · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 40: Imposes One-Time Tax on Certain Taxpayers

    If yes wins
    People worth over $1 billion who lived in California on January 1, 2026 pay the state a one-time tax of 5 percent of their net worth, and 90 percent of the money has to go to health care.
    If no wins
    The state does not collect that tax.
    What it costs
    Tens of billions of dollars come in over several years, and the state may lose under $1 billion a year in income tax from billionaires.

    If Proposition 41 or 42 gets more yes votes than this one, the courts could stop it from becoming law even if it passes.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 40The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Constitutional amendment · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 41: Prohibits New State Taxes That Exclude Revenues from State Spending Limit. Requires Audits for New State Special Taxes

    If yes wins
    The State Auditor reviews the programs a new special tax would pay for, before the election and every four years after, and a state tax passed after January 1, 2026 that keeps its money outside the state spending limit is cancelled.
    If no wins
    The State Auditor's duties and the spending limit rules stay as they are.
    What it costs
    Unknown: it depends on what voters and the Legislature decide later.

    If this gets more yes votes than Proposition 40, the courts could stop Proposition 40 from becoming law even if it passes.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 41The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Constitutional amendment · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 42: Prohibits New State Personal Property Taxes and Certain Retroactive State Taxes

    If yes wins
    The state cannot create a new tax on owning stocks, investment accounts or other personal property, and it is limited in taxing things that already happened.
    If no wins
    The state keeps the option of taxing the ownership of financial assets and other personal property.
    What it costs
    The state's tax income may not grow as much in the future.

    If this gets more yes votes than Proposition 40, the courts could stop Proposition 40 from becoming law even if it passes.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 42The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Constitutional amendment · put on the ballot by the Legislature

    Proposition 43: Limits Voters’ Ability to Raise Revenues for Local Government Services

    If yes wins
    From January 1, 2027, a local tax for one stated purpose that voters put on the ballot themselves needs two thirds of the vote to pass, up from more than half.
    If no wins
    Those taxes keep passing with more than half of the vote.
    What it costs
    Local governments may collect less tax in the future than they otherwise would.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 43The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Statute · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 44: Requires Community Health Clinics Spend 90% Of Revenue on Program Services

    If yes wins
    Private nonprofit clinics that mainly serve low-income patients have to spend at least 90 percent of their revenue on health care, and pay the state the shortfall when they do not.
    If no wins
    The spending rule does not take effect.
    What it costs
    Enforcing it costs the state low tens of millions of dollars a year, paid by fees on the clinics.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 44The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this
  • Statute · put on the ballot by signatures

    Proposition 45: Modifies Environmental Review for Certain Projects

    If yes wins
    Most housing, transportation, water and health projects can choose a faster environmental review with deadlines, and a court can stop only the part of a project whose review fell short.
    If no wins
    Projects keep going through the review and court process used today.
    What it costs
    High tens of millions of dollars a year at first for state and local governments, possibly over $100 million, partly paid by fees, with the long run effect uncertain.

    No side from me yet. None of my principles settles this one.

    Source: Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 45The Legislative Analyst's analysisDiscuss this

The list is from the California Secretary of State, Qualified Statewide Ballot Measures, read October 13, 2026. The yes, no and cost lines are my wording of the official summaries.

Think I have one of these wrong, or see a side where I see none? Make your case in the California discussion.

California is the first state I've done this for. Want yours next? Pick your state and ask in its discussion.

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