Days after the midterm elections, Proposition 40 has yet to be decided. The ballot measure, which would impose a One-time 5% tax on California billionaires to help fund health care, fails by more than 8 percentage points.
Statewide, more than 4 million votes remain to be counted in this race, according to the Associated Press, which calculates the expected vote using the results and other data. That includes more than half a million people from Los Angeles County, where “yes” leads by more than 7 percentage points.
The proposal has so far found support in nine counties: Alameda, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Monterey, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Yolo. In Southern California, Los Angeles is the only county leaning toward “yes.”
Propositions 41 and 42
While Proposition 40 focuses narrowly on taxing billionaires, competing Propositions 41 and 42 would have broader impacts on the state’s ability to pass new taxes. And these measures could weaken Proposition 40 if it passes.
As of Friday, the latest vote tallies showed that “yes” to Proposition 41 was behind by more than 7 points, while “yes” to Proposition 42 was ahead by more than 6 points.
Proposition 41 would require audits for new special state taxes and prohibit new state taxes from being exempt from a voter-approved state spending cap. Proposition 42 would prohibit new taxes on retirement assets, individual assets and other personal savings. If Proposition 40 passes and either measure passes with more “yes” votes than Proposition 40, it would prevent the billionaires tax from becoming law.
A late October the survey showed Voter opposition to Propositions 41 and 42 grew even as support for the billionaires tax waned.
The money behind the measures
Support for Proposition 40 stands at nearly $35 million, mostly coming from the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the health care workers union that proposed the tax.
Supporters of Propositions 41 and 42 also opposed Proposition 40. Together, they raised more than $300 million. Most of this money came from the billionaires who would be subject to the tax.
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