The research you never had time to do.
Every California proposition and every race in San Bernardino County, looked into the way a reporter would: who's paying, who benefits, what the candidates have actually done, and how to follow the money after you vote. Every claim links to its source.
Propositions
All 14 with filters →- 1Housing bond$11.25B builds subsidized units at about $630K each through an agency that has ignored audit fixes since 2018. The backlog is real; the cost problem isn’t addressed.Toss-up
- 2Rainy day fundLets the state save twice as much for recessions, which past downturns show it needs. Read the riders: easier emergency declarations and debt payments that can repay federal unemployment loans.Lean yes
- 3High-earner taxMakes the “temporary” top-earner tax permanent: $9–10B a year. School spending is up 75%, results are flat, and no money is tied to outcomes.Toss-up
- 4Public campaign financingLets the state and any city or county spend tax money on political campaigns, with no further vote by you. The best-studied program didn’t broaden who donates.Lean no
- 5Recall rulesA replacement could no longer win with a plurality. Instead the lieutenant governor, or a governor’s appointee, would fill the seat. Incumbents wrote it.Toss-up
- 37Home-buyer loansUp to $25B in state-backed loans for buyers of new homes. The Realtors fund it, and no one knows how many homes it would finance.Lean no
- 38Immunology bond$8.4B bond. About $4.2B is written for one institute with three employees, chaired by the measure’s funder.Lean no
- 39Voter IDVoter ID plus an ID number on mail ballots. Texas rejected 1 in 8 mail ballots when it tried this; fraud runs about 4 per 10 million.Lean no
- 40Billionaire taxA one-time 5% tax on billionaires for health care. Revenue is “very hard to predict,” and the sponsor union offered to drop it for a deal.Lean no
- 41Special-tax auditsAudits sound good, but its key clause voids Prop 40 if it wins more votes, and it adds cost to every future citizen tax measure.Lean no
- 42Wealth-tax banA permanent constitutional ban with edges the courts will set, funded by the billionaires it protects and sold as retirement protection Prop 40 already gives. No on 40 does the job without it.Lean no
- 43Local special taxesCitizen-proposed local special taxes would need two-thirds, the same bar councils already face. One-third of voters could block what most want.Toss-up
- 44Clinic spendingClinics must spend 90% of revenue on care. The pay problem is real, but the sponsor union allegedly offered to drop it for members.Lean no
- 45CEQA fast-trackFast-track CEQA review for housing, utilities, roads and more, locked in a statute lawmakers can’t narrow. The infill housing fix already works; this one reaches data-center power lines and edge-of-town subdivisions.Lean no
"Our read" is this guide's take on the evidence on each page. Read it, check the sources, then decide for yourself.
Statewide offices
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner, Superintendent of Public Instruction. Each candidate read like a job applicant: what have they actually done?
Compare candidates →Your local races
Pick your city to see your Congress and Legislature seats, county, city, school and water boards, and local measures.
Choose your city →After you vote
Passing a measure is where the work starts. Each proposition page ends with a follow-up plan: the agency and officials responsible, what to watch in their reports, and the public-records requests anyone can send. See Prop 1's plan →
How to vote in San Bernardino County
Dates, drop-offs and registration, from the Registrar of Voters
Key dates
- Oct 5: Mail ballots went out to every active registered voter. Early voting opened at the Registrar of Voters office. [San Bernardino County ROV]
- Oct 19: Regular registration deadline (passed). You can still register and vote the same day; see below. [San Bernardino County ROV]
- Oct 27: Last day to request a replacement mail ballot (passed). If you lost yours, vote in person. [San Bernardino County ROV]
- Sat, Oct 31: Registrar of Voters office open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. [San Bernardino County ROV]
- Tue, Nov 3, Election Day: Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. [Secretary of State, Quick Facts] Drop boxes close at 8 p.m. [San Bernardino County ROV]
- Nov 25: Last day to fix a mail ballot flagged for a missing or mismatched signature. [San Bernardino County ROV]
Three ways to vote
- Mail it back. No stamp needed. It must be postmarked by Nov 3 and arrive within seven days. If you mail it close to Election Day, ask a post office clerk to hand-postmark it. [San Bernardino County ROV]
- Drop it off. Any county drop box, polling place, or early voting location, by 8 p.m. on Nov 3. [San Bernardino County ROV]
- Vote in person. At your assigned polling place on Election Day, or early at the Registrar of Voters office or an early voting location. [San Bernardino County ROV]
Not registered, or moved?
You can still register and vote the same day (conditional voter registration) at the Registrar's office or an early voting location through Election Day, or at a polling place on Election Day. [San Bernardino County ROV]
Useful links
Small numbers like [1] are footnotes to the source. Want to dig further? Hand the research to an AI agent, or read the method and every source.