Voters in California will be choosing a new governor this November, with two-term governor Gavin Newsom leaving office under California’s term limit law. A full slate of state officials, from Lieutenant Governor to the state Board of Equalization, are on the ballot, as well. All California Assembly seats, and half of state Senate seats, are up for grabs, not to mention more than a dozen statewide ballot measures, including high profile measures such as Proposition 40, the so-called “Billionaire Tax,” and the voter ID Prop 39.
Add in races and ballot measures at the county and local levels, and Golden State voters have a lot to sort through. JPR News has gathered all those items, along with news stories to help explain them all, in this Election 2026 Guide.
How to register and vote
Register to vote online — RegisterToVote.ca.gov
Check your registration status at My Voter Status
Important dates
October 5: County elections officials begin mailing ballots.
October 5: Secure ballot drop-off locations open. Ballots can be dropped off at a drop-off location, county elections office, or returned by mail.
October 19: Last day to register online to vote in the November 3 general election.
October 20 – November 3: Voters can “conditionally” register and cast a provisional ballot under Same Day Registration.
October 24: The first vote centers open for early in-person voting in Humboldt County.
October 31: In-person early voting locations open throughout California
November 3, Election Day: Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before this date. To ensure your ballot is postmarked by Election Day, mail it at least 7 days in advance.
If you mail your ballot on November 3, ask for a manual postmark from a postal employee inside a United States Post Office.
November 3 is the last day to vote in-person or return a ballot by 8:00 p.m. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Federal offices
U.S. House
U.S. Representative, District 1 (Tehama County)
James Gallagher (R); Mike McGuire (D)
U.S. Representative, District 2 (Del Norte, Humboldt, Shasta and Siskiyou counties)
Jared Huffman (D); Robin Littau (R)
State offices
Governor
Xavier Becerra (D); Steve Hilton (R)
Fiona Ma (D); Gloria Romero (R)
Attorney General
Rob Bonta* (D); Michael E. Gates (R)
Secretary of State
Shirley N. Weber* (D); Donald P. “Don” Wagner (R)
Controller
Malia M. Cohen* (D); Herb W. Morgan (R)
Insurance Commissioner
Ben Allen (D); Jane Kim (D)
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Richard Barrera; Sonja Shaw
Treasurer
Eleni Kounalakis (D); Jennifer Hawks (R)
State Board of Equalization —
District 1 — Nelson Esparza (D); Shannon Grove (R) District 2 — Sally J. Lieber* (D); John Pimentel (D)
* Incumbent
State Senate, District 2
Damon Connolly (D); Tief Gibbs (R)
State Assembly, District 1
Heather Hadwick* (R); Dianna Margaret James (D)
State Assembly, District 2
Chris Rogers* (D); Michael Greer (R)
State Assembly, District 3
Dom Belza (R); James “Jamie” Johansson (R)
Statewide ballot measures
Proposition 1
Authorizes the state to borrow $11.25 billion for affordable housing and housing assistance for veterans.
Proposition 2
Changes state budget-reserve rules so that California would build larger reserves and make additional debt payments for a longer period.
Proposition 3
Makes permanent the existing state income-tax increase on high-income Californians, with most of the revenue going to K-12 schools and community colleges.
Proposition 4
Allows state and local governments to establish public financing programs for candidates for public office, subject to certain restrictions.
Proposition 5
Changes the recall process for statewide officials so that recall ballots would no longer include a question about who should replace the official, with vacancies generally filled through a subsequent election or appointment.
Proposition 37
Authorizes up to $25 billion in revenue bonds to finance a home-loan assistance program offering eligible middle-income California buyers fixed-rate mortgages for up to 17% of the purchase price of qualifying newly built homes. The bonds would be repaid from mortgage payments.
Proposition 38
Authorizes the state to borrow $8.4 billion for research into immunology and immunotherapy at qualifying California research institutions and universities.
Proposition 39
Requires voters to present government-issued identification when voting in person or provide the last four digits of a government-issued identification number when voting by mail, along with additional citizenship-verification requirements.
Proposition 40
Imposes a one-time tax of up to 5% on the covered wealth of individuals and trusts worth more than $1 billion, with the revenue primarily directed to health care.
Proposition 41
Requires audits of programs funded by new state special taxes and nullifies state taxes enacted after January 1, 2026, that exempt their revenues from the state spending limit.
Proposition 42
Prohibits new California state taxes on the ownership of personal property such as financial assets and business interests, as well as certain retroactive taxes.
Proposition 43
Requires two-thirds voter approval for certain local-government tax measures that currently can be approved by a simple majority.
Proposition 44
Requires qualifying nonprofit community health clinics to spend at least 90% of their revenue on programs and services advancing their charitable health-care purposes.
Proposition 45
Changes California environmental-review law to expedite review of specified housing, transportation, water, health and clean-energy projects and limit the scope and timing of some legal challenges.
County offices
Shasta County Supervisor, District 5
Chris Kelstrom*; Mike Gallagher
County ballot measures
Shasta County Measure E
Limits the county's use of eminent domain
Shasta County Measure F
Would revise the procedures for filling vacancies in elected county department-head offices, excluding county supervisors.
Tehama County — Measure E — County Charter Amendment:
City offices
Humboldt County
Arcata City Council — 2 seats
Kimberley White; Dan Shahin; Blase Bonpane; Abigail Strickland; Genevieve Serna; Reese Halter.
Blue Lake City Council — 2 seats
Adelene Jones; Elise Scafani*; Verda Winona Pitts; Charis Bowman.
Eureka Mayor
Kim Bergel; Anil Dwivedi; Casey Dresser.
Eureka City Council, Ward 1Jason McCutcheon; Victor Garcia; Audra Sisson.
Eureka City Council, Ward 3G. Mario Fernandez; Janelle Jackson.
Eureka City Council, Ward 5Jeff Leonard; Kathleen Herrera.
Ferndale City Council — 2 seats: Stephen Avis; Jennifer Fisk-Becker*; Brent Chase.
Ferndale Mayor — 2-year term: Randy Cady* — unopposed.
Fortuna City CouncilMike Johnson*; Abe Stevens*; Tina Christensen; Carlos Diaz*. There are three four-year positions plus a separate two-year seat; Diaz is seeking the two-year term.
Rio Dell City Council – 3 seats: Debra Garnes*, Brett Barsanti, Jeffrey D. Berry – Three candidates for three seats.
Trinidad City CouncilKati Breckenridge*; Gretchen Riddle; John Waskiewicz*; Jack Tuttle*. Four candidates are running for four available seats/terms.https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2026/sep/7/meet-your-trinidad-city-council-candidates-upcomin/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Siskiyou County
Dorris City Council: Abner Weed*; Duck Donald G. Clontz Sr.*; Eric Ray Stafford
Dunsmuir City Council: Vote for three — Andrew McLane; Alan Clother; Brian Wilson; Matthew Bryan*; Michael W. Clarno*; Cami Giacomelli-DeClusin
Etna City Council: Full term: Vote for three – Brandon Fawaz*; Jason Deppen*; John Stacher*; Mitch Trost
Fort Jones Town Council – Madeleine DeAndreis Ballot*; Mercedes M. Garcia*
Montague City Council: Full term, vote for two — Gregory E. Johnson; Patrick Vela*; Linda Avila
Montague City Council: Short term- Vote for one – John R. McCarthy
Mount Shasta City Council: Kenji Guy Dorsey-Imabori; Roslyn McCoy; Tim Stearns; Vicki Barr; Wendy A. Warnick
Tulelake City Council – Full Term – Vote for 3 : “Penny” Paulette Velador*; Thoman Cordonier*; Teresa Williams*
Tulelake City Council –Patty Taylor*
Tulelake City Clerk – Anna Gabiela Perez-Ramirez*
Tulelake, City Treasurer – Sara R Luscombe*
Weed City Council: Darrell W. Parham; Marie Gates-Green
Yreka City Council: Full term- Vote for three Colleen Baker*; Francisco Gomez; Ben Villegas; Rhetta Hogan; Ian Davis; Jason Williams
null
Tehama County
Corning
Mayor — Robert Snow; Jose “Chuy” Valerio City Council, two seats — David L. Demo*; Stefano “Steve” Miraglia
Red Bluff
City Council, three seats — Marcella White; Cassandre “Cassie” Pope*; Kris Deiters*; William Ahmad Ellis
City of Tehama
City Council, four seats — Janine Weston*; Lynda Cameron*; James W. Bacquet*; Robert E. Mitchell*
Shasta County
Redding City Council — 3 seatsTenessa Audette*; Mark Mezzano; Rebecca Anne Miller; Jack Munns*; Christina Prosperi; Joana Rebollar; Paul Saulsbury; Elise Ramirez Sloan; Russ Wenham.
Redding City ClerkSharlene Tipton* — unopposed
Anderson
City Council — Vote for 2 — Lexus L. Alexander; Stan L. Neutze; Amarjit Singh
Shasta Lake
City Council — Vote for 2 — Pamelyn Morgan*; Justin Jones*; Dolores Lucero
Del Norte County
Crescent City
City Council — two four-year seats: David Sedgwick; Roger Gitlin; Steve Shamblin*.
City Council — one two-year seat: Isaiah Wright* — unopposed.
City ballot measures
Humboldt County — Measure D — City of Fortuna: Would increase Fortuna’s local transactions-and-use (sales) tax by 0.75 percentage point, generating an estimated $1.8 million annually for general city services.
Humboldt County — Measure G — City of Arcata: Would continue Arcata’s existing 0.75% sales tax beyond its scheduled 2029 expiration, with revenue continuing to support streets, transportation infrastructure, public safety and other city services.
Humboldt County — Measure H — City of Eureka: Would amend Eureka’s charter to adjust the compensation paid to the mayor and City Council members.
Humboldt County — Measure I — City of Eureka: Would increase Eureka’s transient occupancy (hotel) tax by 2 percentage points, generating additional general-fund revenue from overnight lodging.
Tehama County — Measure D — City of Red Bluff: Would change the offices of City Clerk and City Treasurer from elected to appointed positions, allowing the City Council—or, if authorized, the city manager—to appoint them
Siskiyou County
Measure G — Yreka: Would increase the transient occupancy (hotel) tax from 10% to 12% starting July 1, 2027, generating an estimated $245,000 annually for city infrastructure and general services.
Measure H — Mount Shasta: Would establish a 1% local sales tax for public safety, wildfire protection and other general city services, subject to audits and citizen oversight.
Measure K — Weed: Would establish a 1.5% sales tax, generating an estimated $1.7 million annually for emergency services, roads and other general city services.
Special district / school district ballot measures
School and community-college measures
Humboldt/Tehama/Shasta — Measure C — Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District: Would authorize $129.63 million in general-obligation bonds for Shasta College facility, infrastructure, career-training and public-safety-training improvements.
Humboldt County — Measure E — Ferndale Unified School District: Would authorize $7 million in school bonds to improve career-technical education facilities, classrooms, labs, agricultural programs and school safety.
Tehama County — Measure G — Los Molinos Unified School District: Would authorize $9.8 million in bonds for classroom and facility modernization, career-technical facilities, safety improvements, a new elementary gym and other school upgrades.
Tehama County — Measure H — Red Bluff Joint Union High School District: Would authorize $19 million in bonds for career-technical facilities, classroom and building repairs, water/plumbing/HVAC improvements and campus-safety upgrades.
Fire and healthcare district measures
Humboldt County — Measure F — Ferndale Fire Protection District: Would establish an ongoing parcel tax ranging from $5 to $600 depending on property use, raising about $116,000 annually for fire protection and emergency services.
Humboldt County — Measure J — Petrolia Fire Protection District: Would establish an ongoing parcel tax generally ranging from $75 to $160, with inflation adjustments, to raise about $21,000 annually for fire protection and emergency response.
Humboldt County — Measure K — Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District: Would authorize up to $25 million in general-obligation bonds to help finance construction of a new Southern Humboldt hospital, including a larger emergency room and upgraded medical facilities.
Siskiyou County
Measure I — Tulelake Multicounty Fire District: Would impose an annual special parcel tax of $50 on unimproved parcels, $100 on improved parcels, and $150 per commercial business occupancy to maintain and improve fire protection and prevention services. The district estimates annual revenue of approximately $106,250; the tax would continue until repealed by voters.
Measure J — Mount Shasta Union Elementary School District: Would authorize $9.1 million in general-obligation bonds for roof, plumbing, electrical, HVAC and safety-system repairs, with an estimated average levy below $25 per $100,000 of assessed value.
Measure L — Mount Shasta Fire Protection District: Would authorize a constitutional spending limit of up to $425,000 for a period not exceeding four years.
General Election News
