Voters will be asked in November whether to allow the expansion of public campaign financing programs to better level the playing field between candidates who aren’t as well resourced and those backed by wealthy donors.
Called the California Fair Elections Act of 2026, Proposition 4 would lift a ban prohibiting counties, districts, most cities and the state from providing public funds to help candidates finance their campaigns. Presently, only charter cities, such as Los Angeles and Long Beach, can offer such programs.
The ballot measure would not mandate public campaign financing programs but would give voters and more local governments the option to decide whether to have such programs. Since campaigns can be costly, supporters say these programs give candidates greater access to funds to compete more fairly, thus lessening the influence of “big money” by wealthy donors and special interests in elections.
But to qualify for the money, candidates must agree to certain terms, including limiting how much their campaign spends, and cannot use the funds to cover legal defense fees or fines or to repay personal loans they made to their campaigns.
Proposition 4, which would amend the Political Reform Act of 1974, would also increase penalties related to the influence of a foreign government or foreign principal on elections.
Current law bans such foreign entities from donating or spending money to support or oppose a candidate for state or local office, or any state or local ballot measure. Violation of this law is a misdemeanor, and a person found guilty of this may face a fine equal to the amount they contributed or expended.
Should the measure pass, a person guilty of this misdemeanor would, at minimum, be fined an amount at least equal to the amount contributed or expended, and they could be fined up to three times that amount.
Proposition 4 was placed on the ballot through a bill by state Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in October.
California Clean Money Action Fund, California Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California sponsored SB 42 while the California Taxpayers Association opposed it.
Opponents raised concerns that it would force taxpayers to finance political speech they don’t support and that candidates could fraudulently seek public financing, leading to abuse and corruption, according to an analysis of the bill.