Results are rolling in for key California ballot measures that drew intense voter interest during the recent midterm elections.
As of 5 PM on the 4th, Proposition 37, designed to support middle-class homeownership, secured passage with 61.2% of the vote. The measure involves issuing a $25 billion bond allowing home buyers with a 3% down payment to receive up to 17% of the home’s value in secondary mortgage assistance from the state.
Proposition 40, the billionaire tax introduction measure, is heavily favored to fail with 55.3% opposing votes. A counter-measure, Proposition 41, is also trailing with 52.7% opposed. Conversely, Proposition 42, which restricts new state taxes on personal assets, is projected to pass with 54% in favor.
Under current trends, the billionaire tax is effectively scrapped, putting the brakes on similar wealth tax proposals moving forward.
Proposition 3, aimed at securing educational funding, also passed. This measure maintains existing income tax rates applied to high-income earners to utilize those funds for public schools and community colleges.
Proposition 39, which would have mandated voter ID requirements at polls, was decisively defeated with 58.8% opposing votes. The initiative would have required voters to present government-issued identification at polling places and include an ID number on mail-in ballots.
Proposition 44, which would have required non-profit clinics to spend at least 90% of their revenue on patient care, was also defeated. Opposing votes reached 81.9%, drastically overshadowing the 18.1% in favor.
Meanwhile, Measure FD, a Los Angeles city sales tax increase aimed at securing funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), led with 53.7% in favor versus 46.3% opposed. If passed, the LA city sales tax will rise from 10.25% to 10.75%.
