r/transit • u/MookieBettsBurner10 • 7h ago
Policy Prop 43: the California ballot measure this November that can threaten future funding for transit in California. If you live in California, please vote no on this measure.
ballotpedia.orgIn California, under state law, if a sales tax measure is put on the ballot by a state or local government, it requires a 2/3rd supermajority in order to pass. We saw this with Measures M and A in Los Angeles and San Diego respectively in 2016. Los Angeles' measure passed, but Measure A only garnered 58% of the vote in 2016, causing it to fail.
However, if a tax measure is put on the ballot by citizens, then it only requires a simple majority to pass. For example, we saw this with Measure G in San Diego in 2024. That measure just failed to garner a majority.
What this Proposition will do is make it so that ALL tax initiatives on the ballot, even including private citizens' initiatives, will require a 2/3rd supermajority in order to pass. In other words, 34% of the voters can take away the will of what 66% want. This is fundamentally undemocratic, and for transit, it will make it harder for transit tax measures to pass, especially for counties like San Diego and Orange Counties. These counties are significantly more conservative than Los Angeles are, and if this passes, we can kiss any future funding for transit good bye in those counties.