California Ballot Measures

Measure ER , a proposed half-cent sales tax to fund healthcare services in Los Angeles County, is on the June 2 ballot. In this file photo, Nurse D prepares syringes during a vaccine clinic at the LA County library in Paramount on Aug. 4, 2021. BRITTANY MURRAY STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

If LA County voters approve Measure ER’s half-cent sales tax, state approval still needed

By Linh Tat

May 30, 2026 at 3:25 p.m.

The proposed sales tax, on the June 2 ballot, would backfill federal healthcare funding cuts.

In this file photo, voters cast their ballots for the 2024 California primary election at Pasadena Presbyterian Church in Pasadena on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

A bipartisan effort to reform California’s top-two primary system is underway

By Linh Tat

May 16, 2026 at 3:15 p.m.

A pair of veteran political strategists hope to get an initiative on the 2028 ballot...

The campaign behind a proposed ballot measure billed as an effort to prohibit retroactive taxes and new state taxes on personal property, including retirement accounts, savings accounts and other assets, says it is turning in more than enough signatures to the California secretary of state to qualify for the November general election ballot. (Kaitlyn Schallhorn/Orange County Register)

Should California tax retirement accounts? Campaign wants voters to block any new efforts

By Kaitlyn Schallhorn

April 30, 2026 at 4:11 p.m.

The effort, though, may have an impact on a dueling campaign to tax California's billionaires...

Customers shop at 10th Street Cannabis Co. in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, April 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Prop. 64 at 10: Why the illicit cannabis market still dominates in California

By Grant Stringer

April 19, 2026 at 2:46 p.m.

Illicit growers dominate California's pot market, and 56% of cities and counties still ban retail...

Riverside Historic Courthouse building on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department seizes more election materials in ballot investigation

By Jeff Horseman

March 27, 2026 at 3:23 p.m.

Another 426 boxes are in the custody of Sheriff Chad Bianco's office as part of...

Drivers drop their signed ballets into voting bins at the Registrar of Voters as the line of cars stretched down Gateway Drive outside County of Riverside Assessor and Registrar’s offices in Riverside on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (File photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Lawsuits seek to stop Riverside County sheriff’s probe that seized 656,000 ballots

By Jeff Horseman

March 26, 2026 at 4:24 p.m.

The UCLA Voting Rights Project argues that Sheriff Chad Bianco is violating laws on handling...

Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks June 4, 2025, during a California Chamber of Commerce panel with candidates for California governor in Sacramento. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee/TNS)

Court rejects bid to pause Riverside County sheriff’s probe that seized 656,000 ballots

By Jeff Horseman

March 26, 2026 at 4:29 p.m.

The ruling is a blow to Attorney General Rob Bonta's efforts to rein in what...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, left, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are at odds over the sheriff’s investigation into ballots that were cast in Riverside County during the November 2025 Proposition 50 special election. (Bianco and Bonta file photos by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

California attorney general seeks pause of probe involving 656,000 seized Riverside County ballots

By Jeff Horseman

March 26, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.

Sheriff Chad Bianco's investigation "is little more than a fishing expedition," Rob Bonta's office says.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, seen at a Friday, March 20, 2026, news conference in Riverside, has described the investigation that seized more than 650,000 Riverside County ballots as a fact-finding mission meant to restore the public’s faith in elections. (File photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco defends seizure of 656,000 ballots

By Jeff Horseman

March 26, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.

Bianco, who is running for governor, says he has "a duty" to investigate ballots in...

‘Alleged irregularities’ in elections probed by Riverside County sheriff’s office

By Jeff Horseman

March 26, 2026 at 4:31 p.m.

The investigation comes as Sheriff Chad Bianco runs for governor. The secretary of state's office...

Uber’s California ballot initiative sparks showdown with lawyers, doctors

By CalMatters

February 25, 2026 at 10:02 p.m.

Lawyers and doctors oppose Uber’s proposed California ballot initiative, which would cap contingency fees and...

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally in support of a proposed billionaires tax in California at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

California’s proposed billionaire tax brings Sen. Bernie Sanders to rally in LA

By Linh Tat

February 19, 2026 at 4:14 p.m.

The progressive senator's decision to wade into the debate signals how the tax proposal is...

Bernie Sanders, seen in this file photo, will travel to California next week, with a stop on Wednesday, Feb. 18, in Los Angeles to headline a campaign rally in support of a proposed billionaires tax. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Sen. Bernie Sanders to headline L.A. rally for billionaires tax proposal

By Linh Tat

February 12, 2026 at 2:38 p.m.

The Vermont senator will also meet with AI leaders and appear in a town hall...

Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell advocates for a half-cent sales tax measure with Supervisor Hilda Solis, left, to fund the federal Medicaid cuts that will affect Los Angeles County residents during a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

LA County places half-cent healthcare sales tax on June ballot

By Steve Scauzillo

February 10, 2026 at 2:31 p.m.

A healthcare tax will be before LA County voters in June. The Board of Supervisors...

Members of the Restore Healthcare for Angelenos rallying at a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at Venice Family Clinic in Inglewood. (photo courtesy of Restore Healthcare for Angelenos)

Will L.A. County supervisors let voters decide on paying for missing healthcare coverage?

By Steve Scauzillo

February 6, 2026 at 5:15 p.m.

What about a new "healthcare tax" that some want to place on the June 2...

Advocates for greater child safety regulations when it comes to AI chatbot use are hoping to get an initiative on the November 2026 statewide ballot in California. (Getty Images)

This proposed California ballot initiative aims to protect children who use AI chatbots

By Linh Tat

January 26, 2026 at 8:55 a.m.

Public interest in kids' safety is prompted by growing concerns that chatbots promote suicidal ideation...

Supporters of a proposed billionaires’ tax to raise money primarily for California’s health care system are collecting signatures to try to get the initiative onto the November 2026 ballot. (SCNG)

California’s politicians and ultra-wealthy are divided over a proposed billionaire tax

By Linh Tat

January 23, 2026 at 11:15 a.m.

Proponents estimate the one-time wealth tax would generate $100 billion, most of which would fund...

Inland Empire United goes door to door in a Colton neighborhood on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, providing information about Prop. 50 to voters. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)

Did your Inland Empire city vote yes or no on Prop. 50?

By Jeff Horseman

January 15, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.

A closer look at results shows a complicated political landscape in Riverside and San Bernardino...