Voters Reject Prop. 40 Billionaire Tax and Pass Prop. 42 Wealth Ban

After more than $480 million in combined campaign spending across seven tax and election-law propositions, California voters rejected a proposed 5% tax on billionaire wealth, enacted a preemptive constitutional ban on non-real-estate wealth taxes, and turned back both a voter-ID mandate and a repeal of the state's ban on public campaign financing.

Sergey Brin's $170.7M Campaign Defeats Prop. 40 and Passes Prop. 42 Wealth Tax Ban

In the most expensive ballot clash of the 2026 cycle, California voters rejected Proposition 40 while approving Proposition 42:

• Proposition 40 (5% Billionaire Asset Tax): Trailed with 44.4% in favor. Labor unions and progressive advocates raised $58.4 million and spent $34.6 million backing the measure, but were outspent nearly five-to-one by the opposition committee Building a Better California, which raised $170.7 million—with 93% of that sum contributed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
• Proposition 42 (Constitutional Ban on Wealth Taxes): Passed with 54.3% support after $159.3 million in campaign spending by Brin-backed committees, amending the California Constitution to bar state or local taxes on personal net worth or non-real-estate assets.
• Propositions 41 and 43 (Special-Tax Rules): Two additional tax measures trailed in early returns. Proposition 41, which would cap administrative spending and mandate independent audits on special taxes, stood at 47.6% in favor. Proposition 43, authored by East Bay Assemblymember Buffy Wicks to overturn a 2017 California Supreme Court interpretation that allowed citizen-initiated local special taxes to pass with a simple majority rather than two-thirds, trailed at 45.1% after drawing $17.6 million in support and $11.9 million in opposition.

Voters Reject Prop. 4 Public Financing and Prop. 39 Voter ID, Pass Prop. 5 Recall Reform

On election administration and campaign finance, voters rejected Propositions 4 and 39 while narrowly approving Proposition 5:

• Proposition 4 (Public Campaign Financing): Failed 52% against to 48% in favor, leaving intact California's 1988 ban on public funding of political campaigns. Supporters—including League of Women Voters of California co-president Lorrel Plimier, California Nurses Association president Catherine Kennedy, and State Sen. Tom Umberg—argued public matching funds would empower grassroots candidates, while opponents—led by California Taxpayers Association (CalTax) president Robert Gutierrez and Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association president Jon Coupal, alongside analysis from former Fair Political Practices Commission chair Dan Schnur—warned taxpayers could end up subsidizing fringe contenders after more than 60 candidates filed for the June gubernatorial primary.
• Proposition 5 (Recall Election Reform): Narrowly led 50.3% to 49.7%. Prompted by the 2021 gubernatorial recall election, the constitutional amendment eliminates the simultaneous replacement ballot in state recall votes so that if an officeholder is recalled, the lieutenant governor or statutory successor assumes office until the next general election.
• Proposition 39 (Voter ID and Mail-Ballot Verification): Rejected 58.6% against to 41.4% in favor after supporters raised $36.6 million and opponents raised $34.5 million. The initiative would have required government-issued photo identification for in-person voting and required mail-in voters to write the last 4 digits of their Social Security number or driver's license on ballot envelopes.