California voters reject Proposition 40, the proposed one-time 5% tax on billionaires
California voters have rejected Proposition 40, a ballot measure that would have imposed a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of residents worth more than $1 billion, the Associated Press determined on Monday, a week after the 3 November vote. With about 83% of ballots counted, the 'no' side had 52.8% to the 'yes' side's 47.2%. The measure, placed on the ballot by the healthcare workers' union SEIU-UHW to fund healthcare, divided Democrats: Governor Gavin Newsom opposed it, the state party and Senator Bernie Sanders backed it, and the 'no' campaign outspent the 'yes' campaign by roughly ten to one.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- 3Checking claims4 of 5 claims checked
- 4Human gateStill to come
4 of 5 claims checked so far · step 3 of 4: Checking claims
Key points
- Proposition 40 is rejected: the AP called it on Monday with 'no' at 52.8% and 'yes' at 47.2%, with about 83% of ballots counted.
- The one-time 5% tax would have applied to residents worth more than $1 billion — over 200 people — and backers estimated it could raise about $100 billion.
- The fight split Democrats: the union, Sanders and the state party for it; Governor Newsom and his successor against.
Show more (1)
- A companion measure that would bar retroactive taxes, Proposition 42, was still uncalled on Monday's count.
What happened
California counts mail ballots slowly, so the result took a week to call: the measure trailed from election night, and the gap narrowed as counting continued before the AP declared the 'no' lead irreversible on 9 November.
The campaign was one of the most expensive in the state's history. Billionaire opponents, led by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, bankrolled campaigns against the tax and two companion measures designed to block it even if it passed.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · The Yes campaign — SEIU-UHW and its backers
- The healthcare workers' union SEIU-UHW placed the measure on the ballot, estimating it could raise about $100 billion over five years, most of it for healthcare after federal cuts.
- Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna campaigned for it, and the California Democratic Party endorsed it.
- Union president Dave Regan has vowed to put a billionaire tax back on the ballot in 2028 if the legislature does not fund healthcare itself.
Side B · The No campaign — Governor Newsom, business and tech donors
- Opponents argued the tax would drive the wealthy out of California, costing the state revenue and harming its economy.
- Governor Gavin Newsom opposed the measure, arguing a wealth tax would be better done nationally; his elected successor, Xavier Becerra, also opposed it.
- The antitax campaign called Proposition 40 'a reckless experiment conducted on our state's economy'.
Independently verified
4 claims independently verified — listed in the claim-by-claim check below.Not yet verified
1 claim not yet verified — listed in the claim-by-claim check below.What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the AP has called the result: Proposition 40 is rejected, on 52.8% 'no' to 47.2% 'yes' with about 83% counted.
- That the measure's own side has conceded the fight for this cycle and promised a possible 2028 return.
What we don't know yet
- The final certified tally — the Secretary of State certifies the result in December, and counting continues meanwhile.
- Proposition 42's outcome — it led narrowly on Monday but had not been called.
- Whether a billionaire tax returns to the ballot in 2028, as the union's president has vowed.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (5)
Why this label: The AP's call and the percentages are reported in the same terms by Le Monde, NPR, the Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch. The count is not final: the Secretary of State certifies the result in December.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The measure's terms are as reported by NPR, the Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch; the revenue figure is the backers' estimate, carried as an estimate, and the billionaire count is an estimate range in the reporting.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The sponsorship, the design, the backers and opponents and the spending ratio are reported by Le Monde, NPR and TechCrunch; the spending ratio is the AP's as reported by TechCrunch, and Brin's contribution is Le Monde's and TechCrunch's reporting.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Proposition 41's rejection is the AP's call as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Proposition 42's lead is Le Monde's report of Monday's count; the AP had not called it, so its outcome is carried as undecided.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: Regan's vow is reported by the Wall Street Journal; Zucman's words are his own post on X, as reported by Le Monde. Both are carried as the speakers' stated intentions and reactions.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
This was the first modern attempt in the United States to tax wealth itself rather than income, watched as a template far beyond California. Its defeat — in a heavily Democratic state, after record spending against it — now shapes how other states and the national party judge whether a wealth tax can win.
Background
The residency date fixed by the measure: residents worth more than $1 billion on this date would have owed the one-time tax.
California votes on Proposition 40 alongside two companion measures designed to block it; the 'no' side leads from the first results.
The Associated Press determines the 'no' lead is irreversible and calls the measure rejected.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — the AP has called the result, and the certified tally and the companion Proposition 42 are still outstanding.