California voters rejected a proposed one-time tax on billionaires and a statewide voter identification measure as returns from Tuesday’s midterms firmed up.
Proposition 40, the so-called billionaire tax, failed with 3,966,849 “No” votes (52.4%) to 3,598,679 “Yes” (47.6%), The Center Square’s Madeline Shannon reported on Wednesday.
The measure would have imposed a one-time 5% tax on California’s billionaire class. Proponents claimed it would raise roughly $100 billion over five years for K-12 schools, Medi-Cal, CalFresh and other programs.
“We opposed the billionaire tax. We oppose wealth taxes in general,” Susan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, told The Center Square.
“It’s a new kind of tax for California that we think would definitely grow to encompass more people. We were grateful to see that it was defeated,” Shelley said.
Prop. 42, drafted by opponents of the wealth tax to bar new personal property taxes, passed 54.33% to 45.7%, or 4,150,258 to 3,489,519. It was designed to cancel out Prop. 40 if both had passed.
On election night, CalMatters reported “No” leading on Prop. 40 with just over 56% opposed as of 10 p.m. The Center Square’s Wednesday totals show a closer but still failing result as more ballots were counted.
Prop. 39, which would have tightened voter ID rules, was also failing. The Center Square put it at 58.6% No and 41.4% Yes, or 4,504,293 against and 3,187,450 in favor.
CalMatters, citing the Associated Press, said Prop. 39 “will fail” with more than 60% opposing as of 10 p.m. election night. The measure, funded in large part by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein, would have required proof of citizenship at the polls or a Social Security or government ID number on mail ballots.
Election-integrity advocates had cast Prop. 39 as a basic safeguard. Opponents argued it would create new barriers for lawful voters and complicate mail balloting.
The Associated Press call that Prop. 39 will fail leaves California without a statewide photo-ID or citizenship-proof mandate at the polls.
Campaigns for and against California’s 14 statewide propositions spent nearly $1 billion — the most in history on state ballot measures, CalMatters reported.
Other tax-related outcomes broke both ways. Prop. 41, another anti–Prop. 40 measure creating stricter rules on new statewide taxes, was rejected about 52.4% to 47.6%, matching Prop. 40’s No total in Center Square’s tally.
Prop. 3, extending a high-income tax for public education, was passing about 58.7% to 41.3%, The Center Square reported. Bond and housing measures also led, while Prop. 4, which would have allowed public financing of campaigns, trailed.
For conservatives watching California, the twin rejections matter. Voters turned down a novel wealth tax that opponents warned would expand, and they also blocked a citizenship-and-ID package framed as election integrity.
Prop. 44, a health-clinic spending mandate backed by the same SEIU health-care union that pushed the billionaire tax, will fail with more than 81% opposing, CalMatters said, citing the Associated Press.
CDN will update if AP revises any proposition calls as California’s large remaining mail and provisional counts finish.
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