Vote For Our Future: ACLU SoCal 2026 Voter Guide

This November, voters in California will make consequential decisions about our democracy, affordable housing, schools, healthcare, the environment and who pays their fair share.

Make a voting plan, review our endorsements, and school up on issues on this year's ballot that will shape life in Southern California for years to come. Together, we can vote for a future where our rights are protected and our communities have what they need to thrive.

Los Angeles deserves an accountable county government that honors its commitments.

Measure E would provide greater independence and structure for the County of Los Angeles Ethics Commission, Office of Ethics Compliance, and Ethics Compliance Officer promised by 2024’s Measure G. It would also correct for the county’s administrative error that threatened to erase Measure J, the 2020 measure that 2.1 million Angelenos voted for in a landslide win to allocate at minimum 10% of discretionary funding towards community care investments every year. Supporting Measure E means more oversight and transparency at the County level and continuing the County's obligation to fund community investments and alternatives to incarceration proven to help people overcome challenges and build stable futures.

ACLU SoCal says YES on Measure E. Government works best when its accountable and honors its commitments to voters.

Housing is a human right. Prop 1 would authorize an $11.25 billion bond to build and preserve affordable homes and expand homeownership opportunities. This represents the largest public investment in affordable housing in California history and will benefit all of us – with an equity lens towards veterans, seniors, low-and middle-income Californians, people with disabilities, working families, farmworkers, foster youth, and people experiencing houselessness.

Safe, stable housing gives people the foundation to work, raise families and fully participate in their communities. ACLU SoCal says YES on Prop 1. California should invest in affordable housing that helps every person live with dignity and security.

Every Californian deserves access to quality schools and healthcare. Prop 3 would make an existing tax on California’s highest-income earners permanent, preserving $15 billion each year that currently funds public education and healthcare. Strong public institutions expand opportunity and ensure that rights and freedoms are meaningful for everyone.

ACLU SoCal says Yes on Prop 3. California should continue investing in students, schools, and services that strengthen our communities.

Democracy works best when everyone has a fair opportunity to run for office. Prop 4 would repeal California’s ban on public financing of campaigns, allowing the state to create systems that reduce the influence of wealthy donors and expand opportunities for candidates from all backgrounds. Elections should be decided by voters--not by who can raise the most money.

ACLU SoCal says Yes on Prop 4. Public financing can help make California’s democracy more representative and accessible.

Voting is a fundamental right, and every eligible Californian should be able to cast a ballot without unnecessary barriers.

Prop 39 would require voters to present a government-issued identification card for in-person voting and add a personal ID number on vote-by-mail envelopes. The measure is unclear on which kinds of ID would be accepted, creating an unnecessary barrier to the democratic process that will deny eligible voters access to the polls. These barriers would make it harder for eligible Californians to vote and put voter privacy at risk. The burdens created by Prop 39 would especially affect voters who already face obstacles to participating in our democracy including voters of color, young voters, and voters with disabilities.

ACLU SoCal says NO on Prop 39. Californians should protect every eligible person’s freedom to vote—not make it harder to exercise that right.

Every Californian deserves access to quality healthcare, nutrition, and education. Prop 40 would create a one-time 5 percent wealth tax on California billionaires to protect essential services for low-income communities. This measure would help backfill deep cuts to federal spending on healthcare, nutrition, and education—cuts largely driven by H.R. 1 (also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) which delivered massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and further entrenched their outsized influence over our democracy.

Prop 40 gives voters the chance to ask those who have benefited most from California’s public goods and infrastructure to contribute their fair share to protect the health, food security, and educational opportunities of millions of Californians.

ACLU SoCal supports Prop 40. A healthy, equitable state begins with ensuring that every Californian has the resources to survive, succeed, and thrive.

Voter-approved investments should go where voters intended. Prop 41 would create new constitutional requirements for statewide special taxes that could delay ballot measures and make it harder to fund voter-approved priorities like healthcare, education and other essential public services. California already has safeguards to ensure accountability for public funds. We don't need new barriers that make it harder to invest in our communities.

ACLU SoCal says NO on Prop 41. Voters should have the power to fund the services Californians rely on.

Californians should have the power to decide how to fund the services our communities need. Prop 42 would permanently ban new state taxes on financial assets and other personal property, limiting options available to future voters and lawmakers to respond to crises, protect essential services and invest in our communities. If passed, Prop 42 will exacerbate wealth inequality while starving state budgets of funding for healthcare, public education, infrastructure and emergency services – leaving middle-class taxpayers to pick up the tab through higher sales and income taxes.

ACLU SoCal says NO on Prop 42. California should preserve voters’ ability to make democratic choices about how we raise revenue and meet our communities’ needs.

Communities should have the power to invest in the services they need. Prop 43 would require two-thirds voter-approval for local revenue measures that voters themselves put on the ballot. That means just one-third of voters could block what the rest of us want, making it harder to fund schools, affordable housing, healthcare and other community priorities.

By raising voter thresholds for citizen-led proposals, Prop 43 threatens essential neighborhood investments—including affordable housing, public transit, emergency services, and community parks. Prop 43 effectively ties the hands of residents trying to fund critical local needs. A minority of voters should not be able to block investments supported by the majority.

ACLU SoCal says NO on Prop 43. California communities deserve the freedom to make local decisions that improve people’s lives.

Environmental review isn't red tape. It's how communities get a say before a project moves forward in their neighborhood. The communities hit hardest by pollution and displacement depend on that process to protect themselves. Fast-tracking environmental review means less input by the people who live closest to what's being built. Prop 45 narrows the window for affected communities to review projects and raise concerns across housing, transportation, water, health, and energy projects.

ACLU SoCal says NO on Prop 45. Environmental justice demands that frontline communities hold real power in decisions that shape their neighborhoods and their health.