MARIN COUNTY, CA — The 2026 California general election is underway, and Marin County voters will decide a mix of state, congressional and local races, along with several measures, when ballots are counted Nov. 3.
Election day is Nov. 3, but Californians are already receiving their mail-in ballots for an election that will determine the next governor, which party will control Congress, the future of voting and the fate of a Golden State tax just for billionaires.
Closer to home, voters will decide City Council races in towns such as Novato, San Rafael and Mill Valley, as well as several local measures addressing issues ranging from childcare to schools and city services.
"Voting in California is secure, reliable, and part of California's tradition of encouraging participation in our democracy," said Secretary of State Shirley Weber. "I encourage Californians to return their completed ballot as soon as possible, using one of several safe and secure options available to them. Fulfill your civic duty early – vote now, and have your voice heard."
Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by county election offices Nov. 10. Ballots returned at designated ballot drop boxes must be deposited by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Early voting centers are already open. Through Nov. 3, residents can vote at early voting centers or drop off their ballots in drop boxes. Find a complete list of sites and other election information here.
Several candidates answered Patch's questions about their background, their motivations, what they know about the issues facing Marin County and what they plan to accomplish in their district. Their answers are linked below.
Mill Valley City Council
Two incumbents, Stephen Burke and Max Perrey, are running for two four-year seats on the Mill Valley City Council. Burke has served on the council since 2022, while Perrey was appointed to the council in 2022 and currently serves as mayor. Because the number of candidates matches the number of seats, there is no contested election for the two positions.
The 2026 election for California's 2nd Senate District is an open-seat contest because incumbent Sen. Mike McGuire is terming out. The district includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Sonoma and Trinity counties. Democrat Damon Connolly, a state Assemblymember and former Marin County supervisor, faces Republican Tief Gibbs, a Novato small-business owner who previously ran for Congress in 2024. Connolly and Gibbs advanced from the June primary after finishing first and second, respectively, among three candidates.
California's 12th Assembly District race is open in 2026 because Democratic Assemblymember Damon Connolly is running for the State Senate. The district includes all of Marin County and portions of Sonoma County, including Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati and Santa Rosa. Two Democrats advanced from the June primary and will face off in November: Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan and Rohnert Park Councilmember Jackie Elward. Lucan, who received the most votes in the primary, has emphasized his local-government experience and work on housing, transportation, climate resilience, and economic issues. Elward, an educator and former labor organizer, has focused her campaign on affordability, education, climate policy and housing.
U.S. House, District 2
Democratic incumbent Rep. Jared Huffman is seeking another term in the U.S. House against Republican challenger Robin Littau in California's 2nd Congressional District. Huffman was first elected to Congress in 2012 and has represented the district since then. Littau is a Coast Guard veteran, Redding business owner and former Enterprise Elementary School Board member. The redrawn district stretches from Marin County north to the Oregon border, including Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity, Shasta, Siskiyou and Modoc counties. This is Huffman's first election under the district's current boundaries.
Measure P – County of Marin Childcare Initiative
The measure would impose a special parcel tax of 5 cents per square foot of building space, capped at 100,000 square feet per parcel, generating an estimated $12.5 million annually for 15 years. The money would fund childcare, preschool and early childhood education, improve compensation for childcare providers, and develop or expand early-care and education facilities. Administrative costs would be capped at 5 percent of annual proceeds, and the measure would require annual independent audits, public reporting, and community oversight. The tax could be adjusted annually for inflation beginning in its second fiscal year. It would require a simple majority to pass.
Supporters say the measure would help address Marin's shortage of affordable, high-quality childcare, expand available childcare spaces, improve pay for educators and allow more parents to remain in the workforce. They also point to the measure's restrictions on how the money can be spent and its auditing and oversight requirements.
Opponents argue that the measure does not establish specific spending allocations, income thresholds, or measurable performance requirements, and that its 15-year duration is too long. They also question whether it would directly reduce childcare costs for Marin families, note that the measure does not require beneficiaries to be Marin residents, and object to the lack of exemptions for lower-income homeowners or seniors.
Measure T – City of Mill Valley
Measure T would renew Mill Valley's municipal services tax for 10 years, beginning in fiscal year 2027-28, to fund road and street maintenance and fire-suppression activities, including vegetation management and tree maintenance. The tax would be $303 per occupied single-family residential unit, with different rates for multifamily, commercial, and unoccupied properties, and would increase 2 percent annually beginning in the second year. Low-income residents over 65 who own and occupy a single-family home would be exempt.
The city estimates the measure would raise an average of $1.9 million annually. Supporters say the tax would maintain funding for road repairs, wildfire-fuel reduction and emergency access, and would continue work on Mill Valley's roads and vegetation management. They also describe it as a continuation of an existing local funding source. No argument against Measure T was filed. The measure requires two-thirds voter approval.
For more information, check out marincounty.gov/departments/elections.
Millions of Californians will be called back to the ballot box in November to decide who will occupy the governor's seat as well as a slew of other important statewide positions.
Golden Staters will be asked to vote on candidates for:
Democrat and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra is facing Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor.
In a state that hasn't elected a Republican to statewide office in 20 years, Becerra likely already overcame his biggest challenge when he survived the chaotic June primary that saw sexual assault allegations topple the field's frontrunner, former Rep. Eric Swalwell.
After months of turmoil with a large field in the June primary election, the contest to succeed the outgoing Newsom has settled into a stolid affair. With numbers on his side, Becerra's low-key campaign is an acknowledgment that if he avoids mistakes, he is likely to get the job.
To become California's next governor, Hilton must conjure up a feat of political wizardry, the equivalent of pulling voters out of thin air, he acknowledged.
"I've never said it's going to be easy," Hilton said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's obviously an uphill battle. I still see this as a winnable race."
With mail ballots already arriving in homes, Hilton is angling to pull off what would be one of the great upsets in California record books against Democrat Xavier Becerra. Aligned against him in the heavily Democratic state are the weight of recent history, a national electorate that has soured on President Donald Trump and, perhaps inescapably, basic math.
Any Republican starts at a disadvantage. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a staggering 4.6 million voters, a margin approaching 2-to-1 statewide. Trump — who has endorsed Hilton's candidacy — is widely loathed outside his conservative base in a state the president often depicts as representing all that is wrong in America.
"I like Steve a lot, but the math is very hard," says GOP consultant Mike Murphy, who advised the last Republican to hold the office, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was elected to his second term in 2006.
"I think the most relevant equation is how many cases of beer you have to drink to be drunk enough to think it's doable in this election cycle with the Trump dynamic and the registration advantage the Democrats have," Murphy wrote in an email. "My model starts at four cases."
Still, polling conducted in early September by the Public Policy Institute of California found about half of voters think the state is moving in the wrong direction while a majority think economic conditions will be bad over the next year.
California — where Democrats hold every statewide office and dominate the legislature — has one of the nation's highest unemployment rates. Its gas prices are the highest in the nation, and its utility prices are near the top nationally. Home prices often soar into the seven digits. After decades of meteoric growth, the population has essentially flatlined, with California expected to lose a congressional seat as states like Florida and Texas grow at a faster pace.
In his pursuit of a breakthrough, Hilton has anchored his campaign to making California more affordable, including bringing gas prices down to $3 a gallon. Yet he doesn't appear to be gaining the traction he needs to catch the Democrat. A September poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies found that Becerra had a sizable lead over Hilton.
READ MORE: 'Creepy, Weird, Disturbing' Campaign Ad By Candidate For CA Governor Draws GOP Condemnation
Attorney General Rob Bonta, who was appointed after Becerra became the first Latino secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, is now up for re-election.
Bonta, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, will face off against Republican Deputy U.S. Attorney Michael E. Gates.
Gates got 37.9% of the vote in the June 2 primary, while Bonta won 56.6%.
Democratic state Sen. Ben Allen is facing Republican lawyer Jane Kim to become the state's newest insurance commissioner, a seat that is tasked with regulating California's stumbling insurance industry. Residents in recent years have seen their rates skyrocket while major insurers pull out of the Golden State as it faces climate-driven environmental catastrophes.
"In the California State Senate, I've built a reputation for tackling difficult problems, and perhaps no problem in our state is as vexing as fixing our insurance system. It's a system under severe strain, with the consequences falling hardest on those least able to absorb them," Allen told CalMatters. "Stabilizing the market, protecting ratepayers, and fixing the FAIR Plan are not abstract policy goals. They are essential if California is going to remain a place where people can live safely and securely. The current trajectory of the system threatens the future of our quality of life. And God forbid a disaster strikes, California must be a place where people can recover afterwards, rather than be forced out."
Kim is calling for more oversight of insurance companies that deny claims following disasters.
"We need to re-imagine and redesign insurance to work for all of us. And this means taking on the $3.3 trillion industry, which has been posting blockbuster profits for shareholders and CEOs. In fact, CEO's at the 10 largest insurance companies raked in $391 million over the last three years," she told CalMatters.
READ MORE: The Race For Insurance Commissioner
Incumbent Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, was appointed by Newsom after Alex Padilla ascended to his seat as a U.S. senator. She will face Orange County Supervisor Donald P. Wagner, a Republican.
Weber has overseen California's implementation of universal mail-in voting and has battled the federal government's ongoing efforts to curtail vote-by-mail. She has said she plans to increase cybersecurity in the state's election system and has faced criticism for the state's notoriously slow vote certification process.
Wagner has vowed cooperation with President Donald Trump's investigation of alleged voting irregularities and endorsed voter ID measures.
READ MORE: The Race for Secretary of State
Incumbent Democrat Malia M. Cohen will face Republican challenger Herb W. Morgan to oversee spending and accounting in the nation's largest state and one of the largest economies in the world.
READ MORE: The Race For CA Controller
Democratic Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, the first woman elected to the role, is now looking to trade places with State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who is running to succeed her as lieutenant governor.
Kounalakis will face Republican executive retiree Jennifer Hawks in a bid to oversee the state's investments and debts.
READ MORE: The Race For CA Treasurer
Looking to change hats from treasurer to lieutenant governor, Ma, a Democrat, is facing Republican Gloria Romero to be second in line to the governor.
READ MORE: The Race For CA Lieutenant Governor
Proposition 1 seeks to authorize the state to issue $11.25 billion in new bonds for affordable housing, homeownership programs and veterans' housing assistance.
If approved, Proposition 1 would authorize $10 billion in general obligation bonds for affordable rental housing and homeownership programs. Another $1.25 billion would support a state program providing home, farm and mobile home purchase assistance to veterans. It's expected to help build about 40,000 new homes or apartments while also helping another 40,000 people become homeowners.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 1: Bonds For Housing Affordability Programs
Voters will consider whether to amend the state constitution to strengthen its rainy day fund, allowing the state government to squirrel away up to 10% more savings each year for lean years.
Proposition 2 would give lawmakers greater flexibility to manage reserves and debt by changing rules governing the Budget Stabilization Account. Formally called the Save for California's Future Act, the proposition was placed on the ballot by the legislature.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 2: Amendment To Increase The State's Rainy Day Fund
Currently, state income tax rates adjust upward for high wage-earners under a measure approved by California voters in 2012 (Proposition 30) and extended in 2016 (Proposition 55). The progressive tax brackets, which require the wealthiest residents to pay more, are set to expire in 2031. Proposition 3 would make them permanent.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 3: Makes Progressive Income Tax Rates Permanent
Among the slate of 14 statewide ballot measures, Proposition 4 is the only one that asks voters to consider repealing something.
The measure aims to overturn a 1988 ban on using taxpayer dollars to fund campaigns for candidates running for state and most local government offices. Proposition 4 would allow state and local governments to create public financing programs within broad restrictions.
The bill is designed to encourage candidates without deep pockets or access to monied donors to run for office. Proponents of the measure say public campaigns keep private donors from having outsized influence on elections.
Critics oppose publicly funded campaigns because they put taxpayers in the position of subsidizing political campaigns — even for candidates they don't support.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 4: Changing The Rules On Public Campaign Donations
Proposition 5, a legislative constitutional amendment, would change what happens after voters remove a state official from office by recall. Instead of immediately choosing a successor during the recall election as in current practice, Californians instead would vote only on whether to remove an official from office. If the recall succeeds, then the office would generally be filled based on the same procedures for filling vacancies in other, non-recall circumstances.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 5: Constitutional Amendment Changing The State's Recall Process
Proposition 37, which qualified for the ballot as an initiative statute, would authorize up to $25 billion in bonds to back a loan program to help middle-income earners enter the housing market.
Specifically, the proposed programs would provide loans of up to 17% of a home's purchase price to help buyers with the standard 20% down payment. They would have to repay the loan to private lenders as with a standard mortgage payment. The program would be open to buyers earning up to twice the area's median income.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 37: Loan Program For Middle-Income Homebuyers
Proposition 38 is one of California's responses to the Trump administration's massive cuts to funding medical research, impacting studies on cancer, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
If it passes, it would authorize the state to issue $8.4 billion in bonds to fund immunology and immunotherapy research. The measure would require the state to give half the funds to the University of California for research and the rest to public and nonprofit medical research facilities in the state. The measure would also require research facilities that develop medication with Prop. 38 funding to offer the drugs at a 20% discount to California residents while also giving 10% of the revenue back to the state.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 43: Raises Threshold For Passing New Tax Ballot Measures
Proposition 39 seeks to amend the state constitution to require government-issued identification at the polls and the last four digits of a unique government-issued identifying number on mail-in ballots. Prop. 39 would also require the state to verify current voter registration lists, regularly audit compliance with the new rules and pass laws to ensure their implementation.
Read more about it here: CA Proposition 39: Voter ID Measure
The fight over Proposition 40, dubbed the billionaire tax, has garnered massive attention and significant campaign dollars from both supporters and opponents. If passed, the labor union-sponsored initiative would impose a one-time state tax of up to 5% on residents with assets over $1 billion, excluding real estate and certain pensions or retirement accounts. The added tax revenues generated from Prop. 40 would be designated to help fund health care, food assistance and education programs across the state.
Read more about it:
CA Proposition 40: The Billionaire Tax
Billionaire Tax Explained: What You Need To Know About Prop. 40
Proposition 41 prohibits new state taxes that exclude revenues from the state spending limit approved by voters in 1979, and requires audits for new special taxes.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 41: Counter To Billionaire Tax
Proposition 42 prohibits new state taxes on personal property, including business interests, intellectual property, and financial assets such as retirement or investment accounts.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 42: Bars New Taxes On Personal Property; Could Blow Up Billionaire Tax
Proposition 43 combined two hot topics of taxes and voting. If approved, it would amend the state constitution to make it harder to raise local special taxes.
Citizen initiatives asking voters to approve local special taxes would require a two-thirds vote instead of a simple majority to be enacted. By raising the threshold, it becomes less likely that new tax ballot measures that arrive on the ballot via signature-gathering efforts can pass. Currently, the two-thirds threshold only applies to taxes proposed by government officials. If it passes, the growth of local government tax revenues is likely to slow.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 43: Raises Threshold For Passing New Tax Ballot Measures
The union-backed Proposition 44 aims to make sure federally funded community clinics spend the vast majority of funding on care-oriented services as opposed to expenses such as executive compensation.
Also known as the Clinic Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, the proposition would require certain nonprofit community clinics to spend at least 90% of their total annual revenue on program services "advancing their charitable purpose," according to the proposition text.
The proposition would give the state attorney general the authority to issue guidance regarding what constitutes qualifying spending. If a clinic falls short of the 90% requirement, it would be penalized by its shortfall – in other words, if a clinic is required to spend $90 million of its $100 million revenue on qualifying expenses, and only spends $82 million, it would be penalized $8 million. If the clinic comes back into compliance within five years and can demonstrate that it spends at least 90% on qualifying expenses, the money will be returned. If not, the money will remain with the state and will be used for clinic worker training, recruitment and retention.
Read more about it: California Prop. 44: What To Know About Community Clinic Spending Measure
Proposition 45 aims to restrict the California Environmental Quality Act by placing time limits on legal and environmental reviews for housing, transportation and water projects. Supporters of the proposition say the environmental law needs updating because it has been used to inappropriately stymie development. Opponents say the landmark law helps protect Californians from potentially harmful building projects.
A yes vote would make eligible projects subject to the new review and court-challenge procedures when applicants choose them.
A no vote would keep existing review and court-challenge procedures in place.
Read more about it: CA Proposition 45: How Environmental Review Laws Turned Into Spending War
Use this search engine to find drop off boxes and early voting locations in your county.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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