PRESS RELEASE

PR26-39
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2026
Contact: SOSPress@sos.ca.gov

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Announces a Proposed Initiative has Entered Circulation

Changes ballot initiative procedures and elections. Initiative constitutional amendment and statute.

Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on April 7, 2026.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent(s) and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponent(s) and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

CHANGES BALLOT INITIATIVE PROCEDURES AND ELECTIONS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE. Allows voting on ballot initiatives at any statewide election, instead of only at the November General Election in even-numbered years or special elections. Creates new election for initiatives in April of odd-numbered years. Reduces number of signatures required to qualify a proposed ballot initiative (for statutory amendments: from 5% to 3.5% of voters from last gubernatorial election; for constitutional amendments, from 8% to 6%). Imposes new 5% tax on taxable income over $10 million to fund statewide elections and additional compensation to government employees with initiative-related duties. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased state revenue of several billions of dollars each year to pay for increased state and local elections activities and costs. Likely ongoing reduction in state General Fund revenues each year of a few billion dollars from changes in behavior of people with annual income exceeding $10 million in response to taxes levied by the measure for elections.

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 2019 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 26-0001.

The proponent of the measure, Thomas Jefferson Cares, must collect signatures of 874,641 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than October 5, 2026. The address for the proponent is 12816 Inglewood Ave #383, Hawthorne, CA 90250. The proponent may also be contacted at (310) 929-0260 and Tom@UH.do.

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