Californians voted on two housing-related measures Tuesday — Propositions 5 and 33 — and rejected both, according to respective Associated Press race calls. Still, many voters cited affordability as a major issue in the state. 

Proposition 33 would’ve rolled back state-wide restrictions on rent control. Proposition 5 would’ve made it easier for local governments to approve bonds for affordable housing, among other projects. 

Mary-Beth Moylan is a law professor at the University of the Pacific. She said the rejection is a sign voters think lawmakers should solve the problem. 

“Maybe the messaging is — we want there to be changes, we want there to be more affordable housing,” she said. “But we want the Legislature to figure out how to do it on its own and not involve the voters.”

But she added that could be bad news for local officials tasked with addressing affordability in their communities. 

“The fact that these two measures didn't pass means that those people will not have, really, the tools that they need to get anything done,” she said. 

Moylan said attack ads probably played a large part in the no votes, too. 

“There were effective campaigns that had people not really understanding what both of them would do and what the consequences of them would be,” she said. 

She also said that when voters don’t understand a measure, they tend to vote it down. 

“Which I'm not saying is a bad thing,” she added. “Because we probably shouldn't be voting for things that we don't understand.” 

Either way, Moylan said that voters didn’t see these as viable solutions to California’s housing affordability problem.

California voters passed Proposition 4, according to a race call by the Associated Press. About 58% of voters statewide supported the measure that will issue $10 billion in bonds for climate-related projects. 

The money will fund a variety of projects, including those that boost access to safe drinking water, wildfire prevention and the protection of lands and communities in California. 

“The way that Prop 4 was designed to focus on prevention and preparedness really represents  a pivotal shift away from just reacting to climate change,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, the California state director for the conservation nonprofit Trust for Public Land.

Rodriguez said he sees Proposition 4’s passage as evidence of increased voter interest in projects that tackle climate change impacts. 

“The voters of California are willing to make these kinds of significant investments in the future because I think we're all being impacted by climate change,” he said. 

He says the measure will help his nonprofit’s efforts to make public lands more accessible. The measure promises $700 million toward expanding and renovating local and state parks. 

Ariana Rickard, the public policy and funding program manager for the conservation nonprofit Sonoma Land Trust, said she’s expecting 2025 to be another deficit year for California’s budget. This has previously meant slashed funding for environmental projects. 

But she said this money ensures nonprofits who rely on state funding from agencies like the Wildlife Conservation Board — which will receive funding from the measure — can continue their work regardless of budget cuts.  

“We're really thrilled because it means that our projects can go forward,” Rickard said. “There's not going to be added delays to the timeline because we have that reassurance that that funding will be there.”

Updated Nov. 8, 4:55 p.m.

Polls have closed in California and initial results are starting to come in. It may take days — or even weeks — for many races to be called, with results coming in waves as mail-in ballots are received and counted. 

We've noted where the Associated Press has called whether a measure will succeed or fail. CapRadio and NPR rely on the Associated Press for race calls. Here is information on when to expect results and how the process works.

?Proposition 2

California voters approved Proposition 2, according to a race call by the Associated Press. Early results show out of 10,386,227 ballots counted, 57.1% were for and 42.9% were against issuing $10 billion in bonds to improve facilities at public schools and community colleges. Funds raised through these bonds will go toward new construction, including land purchases and classroom upgrades.

?Proposition 3

California voters approved Proposition 3, according to a race call by the Associated Press. Early results show out of the 10,437,201 ballots counted, 61.4% were for and 38.6% were against amending California’s Constitution to remove language which states marriage is permitted only between man and woman. 

The language was added to the state’s Constitution in 2008 after voters passed Proposition 8, but is unenforceable due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case which requires all states to license same-sex marriages.

?Proposition 4

California voters approved Proposition 4, according to a race call by the Associated Press. Early results show out of the 10,455,468 ballots counted, 58.2% were for and 41.8% were against issuing $10 billion in bonds to fund climate-related projects. 

?Proposition 5 

California voters rejected Proposition 5, according to a race call by the Associated Press. Early results show out of the 10,351,394 ballots counted, 56.2% were against and 43.8% were for lowering the statewide threshold to approve housing and infrastructure-related bonds to 55%. 

Proposition 6

Early results show out of the 10,196,270 ballots counted, 54.7% were against and 45.3% were for banning involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime in California. 

According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, about one-third of people in California prisons work jobs like cooking, cleaning, or other tasks needed to run prisons and jails. California’s Reparations Task Force recommended the measure in its 2023 report.

Proposition 32

Early results show out of the 10,458,925 ballots counted, 51.9% were against and 48.1% were for raising the statewide minimum wage to $18 in 2026. If passed, Proposition 32 would also require minimum wage to be adjusted for inflation in the years after it went into effect. 

Past state legislation has also increased wages for workers in the fast food industry and certain healthcare workers. These local and industry-specific wages would be unaffected by Proposition 32.

?Proposition 33

Californians rejected Proposition 33, according to a race call from the Associated Press. Early results show out of the 10,339,438 ballots counted, 61.5% were against and 38.5% were for allowing local governments to set their own rent control laws with fewer restrictions.

If Proposition 33 were to have passed, it would have repealed a 1995 state law called the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which prevented cities from implementing rent control on single-family homes or housing built on or after February 1, 1996. 

Proposition 34

Early results show out of the 10,037,466 ballots counted, 51.3% were for and 48.7% were against requiring health care providers to spend 98% of the revenue they gather on direct patient care. 

The language of the measure establishes a high bar for which health care entities would be required to abide by these restrictions, if passed. These entities must be participants of the discount prescription drug program and spend over $100 million on “purposes that do not qualify as direct patient care” over 10 years. Currently, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the only organization in California that would meet the standards outlined in the measure.

?Proposition 35

California voters approved Proposition 35, according to a race call by the Associated Press. Of the the 10,306,197 ballots counted, 66.9% were for and 33.1% were against bolstering California medicaid reimbursements by ensuring funds the Managed Care Organizations tax go toward Medi-Cal services.

?Proposition 36

California voters have approved Proposition 36, according to a race call by the Associated Press. Of the 10,400,928 ballots counted, 70.1% were for and 29.9% were against raising penalties for some crimes by repealing aspects of a 10-year old proposition that decreased them to address prison overcrowding.

The previous measure, Proposition 47, lowered some theft and drug-related crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor when it was passed in 2014. The new measure would generally turn these misdemeanors back into felonies. It would also lengthen some prison sentences and require more felonies be served in prison. Courts would also be able to mandate drug treatment for people charged with possessing illegal drugs.