By Los Angeles County Politics
Editor’s Note: All figures in this story are the latest LACP had at post time and are subject to change. Readers who want the latest tallies for LA County races are encouraged to visit results.lavote.gov, and for statewide races, electionresults.sos.ca.gov. By law, LA County must certify final results by Dec. 3.
The billionaire tax
Proposition 40 was failing 44.4% to 55.6%, or about 3.42 million votes to 4.28 million, according to the Secretary of State’s unofficial results as of 6:27 a.m. Wednesday. The Associated Press had not called the race.
The measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of California billionaires to raise an estimated $100 billion, with 90% going to health care as millions of Californians face losing Medi-Cal coverage under federal funding cuts signed by President Trump last year. The rest would go to education and food assistance. It would apply to billionaires living in California as of Jan. 1, prompting some to leave the state ahead of the vote.
The measure split Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed it over concerns about the state’s budget, which depends heavily on the wealthy, while the state Democratic Party endorsed it. About $425 million poured into the fight over Prop. 40 and two measures designed to undercut it, nearly a state record, most of it from billionaires opposing the tax, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Of those two, Proposition 42, barring new state taxes on personal property and certain retroactive taxes, was passing 54.3%, while Proposition 41, barring new taxes exempt from the state spending limit, was failing at 47.6%.
Voter ID and the rest of the state ballot
Proposition 39, the Republican-led measure requiring voters to show government-issued ID and election officials to verify citizenship, was failing 41.4% to 58.6%. The vote came a day after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots.
Passing:
- Prop. 37, down payment loans for middle-income buyers of new homes: 61.0%
- Prop. 2, expanding the state’s rainy day fund: 59.6%
- Prop. 1, affordable housing bonds: 59.4%
- Prop. 3, making permanent the income tax on high earners that funds schools and health care: 58.7%
- Prop. 38, immunology research bonds: 55.7%
- Prop. 5, changing the recall process for statewide officials: 50.3%, by fewer than 50,000 votes, the closest race on the ballot
Failing:
- Prop. 44, requiring community clinics to spend 90% of revenue on programs: 18.2%
- Prop. 4, allowing public funding of election campaigns: 48.0%
- Prop. 45, speeding environmental review for certain projects: 45.9%
- Prop. 43, raising the vote needed for voter-proposed local special taxes to two-thirds: 45.1%
LA: Fire tax and charter overhaul
City of Los Angeles voters were backing Measure FD, a half-cent sales tax to fund the Fire Department, 53.63% to 46.37%, or 386,446 votes to 334,174, according to the latest county results. It needs a simple majority. The tax would pay to hire firefighters, replace aging equipment and improve emergency response, as the department faces scrutiny after the January 2025 fires over aging stations and staffing.
Measure TE, exempting victims of the January 2025 fires from the city’s tax on high-value property sales, was leading 63.97% to 36.03%.
All six proposed amendments to the City Charter were also passing:
- SC: clarifies campaign finance rules for LAUSD school board elections. Leading 77.78%.
- PRK: doubles the parks department’s minimum budget over 10 years, using existing tax revenue. Leading 76.91%.
- PRT: changes oversight of the airports, harbor and Department of Water and Power, including requiring the Harbor Department to keep setting aside money for public waterfront projects. Leading 75.49%.
- PL: overhauls planning, consolidates the city’s area planning commissions, and approves certain projects automatically if the council fails to vote on them in time. Leading 70.31%.
- LA: creates a charter-required capital infrastructure plan and changes budget and contracting rules. Leading 60.38%.
- EE: expands the powers of the police inspector general and fire department independent assessor, bars ethics commissioners from running for city office for five years, raises penalties for campaign finance violations, cuts required City Council meetings from three a week to one and makes it harder to qualify referendums for the ballot. Leading 53.88%, the closest of the six.
Countywide and Whittier
Both countywide measures were leading: Measure A, creating binding arbitration for public safety workers barred from striking, and Measure E, giving structure to the county’s new ethics commission.
In Whittier, voters were overwhelmingly approving two charter amendments: Measure EL, 76.15% to 23.85%, on candidates running for mayor or City Council, and Measure EV, 78.88% to 21.12%, changing when the city holds its general municipal elections.
