California Proposition 40 results billionaire tax show the measure heading for defeat, with 44.31 per cent voting yes and 55.69 per cent voting no in semi-official returns, according to the California Secretary of State figures cited on Wednesday morning. With 59 per cent of precincts reporting at 2:33 a.m. Pacific, the yes vote stood at 3,356,581 against 4,218,460 no votes, and a later update put the split at 44.3 per cent to 55.7 per cent with 89.2 per cent of precincts reporting.
Proposition 40 would have imposed a one-time 5 per cent tax on the net worth of California residents worth more than $1 billion as of January 1, 2026, including those who subsequently moved out of state. Revenue would have gone primarily to state healthcare programmes, with smaller shares for food assistance and public education. The measure was sponsored by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, which estimated it could generate approximately $100 billion over five years — a figure California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office did not endorse, estimating tens of billions instead.
A $330 million campaign war
The contest was among the most fiercely fought of the 14 propositions on California’s ballot, pitting labour unions and left-leaning Democrats against some of the world’s richest technology entrepreneurs. Opponents spent more than $330 million to defeat the measure, according to election-night reporting, and the campaign split Democrats: some of the state’s wealthiest tech figures bankrolled rival measures designed to neutralise Proposition 40 even if it passed.
California’s ballots are still being counted, and state election officials will continue processing outstanding ballots before the December 11 certification deadline. The result has not been formally called, but the margin — more than 11 points with nearly nine-tenths of precincts reporting — leaves little room for a reversal. Keep “headed for defeat” wording until a formal call or certification; this is a tax measure, not health advice.
