CA Propositions 2024: All 10 Ballot Measures Explained

CALIFORNIA, CA — While the world turns its attention to the presidential election and who will win control of Congress on Nov. 5, Californians will be taking on weighty issues from same-sex marriage to climate change to criminal justice reform and affordable housing.

It's ballot measure season. Not every state allows for this most direct form of democratic governance, and no state does it like the Golden State — ambitious in scope and high in price tag.

By the end of Nov. 5 election day, California voters will have cast their ballots for or against 10 statewide propositions.

Perhaps the most hot-button measure on the ballot is Proposition 36, which seeks to reverse some of the criminal justice reforms passed when voters approved Proposition 47 a decade ago. If it passes, it could significantly increase prison time for some drug and theft offenses that are currently misdemeanors. It specifically increases penalties related to mob smash-and-grab retail thefts and fentanyl possession.

Voters are also being asked to consider important constitutional amendments, including Prop 3, which would remove the state's ban on same-sex marriage from the state Constitution. Another amendment, Prop 5, would make it easier for municipalities to pass bonds for subsidized housing, down payment assistance programs and infrastructure projects such as hospitals by reducing the voter approval threshold from a supermajority to 55 percent or higher.

If voters approve Prop 5, it will go into effect immediately, affecting two $10 billion bond measures on the ballot to combat climate change and to construct and renovate schools.

Patch has you covered with an examination of what each statewide measure on the Nov. 5 ballot does as well as the arguments for and against them, who is supporting them, who is fighting them and how much money is being spent on each proposition. Click on the proposition for the scoop on each measure.

Statewide Propositions on the Nov. 5 Ballot:

CA Proposition 2: Measure Would Raise $10B For CA Schools

Voters will decide whether to approve $10 billion in new borrowing for public school construction and renovations.

CA Proposition 3: Right To Marry Constitutional Amendment

Prop 3 would replace a ban on same-sex marriage in the state Constitution with language declaring the right to marry is a fundamental right.

CA Proposition 4: The $10B Climate Bond Measure Explained

Proposition 4 would issue $10 billion in bonds for various climate and environmental projects.

CA Proposition 5: California's Measure To Make It Easier To Pass Bonds

Proposition 5 would lower the voter approval threshold for local bond measures that fund affordable housing and infrastructure projects.

CA Proposition 6: The Amendment To End Forced Prison Labor

Proposition 6 would amend the state Constitution to ban involuntary servitude, which is currently permitted as punishment for crime.

CA Proposition 32: California's Minimum Wage Hike Measure Explained

A ballot measure seeks to raise the statewide minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2026, with inflation-based increases each year after that.

CA Proposition 33: The Rent Control Expansion Measure

Proponents say opening up rent control to more homes would ease the state's housing crisis. Opponents say it would just make things worse.

CA Proposition 34: The Mandate On Healthcare Profit Spending

Proposition 34 would require certain low-income health providers to spend 98% of their pharmaceutical profits on "direct patient care."

CA Proposition 35: The Permanent Managed Care Tax For Medi-Cal Funds

Prop. 35 would make permanent a tax on health insurance companies and require that the revenue be spent on Medi-Cal care.

CA Proposition 36: Increasing Penalties For Drug And Theft Crimes

Proposition 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, would increase sentences for drug and theft crimes.