In California, “Measure A” is not a specific law or program. It’s simply the letter label assigned to the first local ballot measure in a given election within a county, city, or special district. So what Measure A actually does depends entirely on which jurisdiction’s ballot you’re holding. One county’s Measure A might fund road repairs; a neighboring city’s Measure A on the same day might authorize a school bond or a sales tax. They share a letter and nothing else.
Why It’s a Letter and Not a Number
California Elections Code Section 13116 requires local measures (county, city, and special district) to be identified by letters, starting with “A” and continuing alphabetically for each additional measure on the same ballot. Election officials can skip ahead to a later letter when a neighboring jurisdiction or a recent prior election already used “A” for something unrelated, which helps keep campaign signs and voter guides from blurring together.1California Legislative Information. California Elections Code Division 13 Chapter 2 Because each county, city, and district letters its measures independently, dozens of unrelated Measure A initiatives can appear across California in the same election cycle.
Statewide questions follow a different system. The California Secretary of State assigns each statewide measure a proposition number, which is why your ballot might show “Proposition 29” alongside “Measure A.”2Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Getting a Measure on the Ballot Numbered items are state issues. Lettered items are local.
What a Measure A Usually Asks Voters to Decide
Local measures tend to cluster around a handful of recurring subjects: transportation improvements like road repairs and public transit, funding for parks and open spaces, police and fire staffing, affordable housing, and school construction or renovation. Each one addresses something the local governing body or a group of residents believes requires dedicated funding or a policy change that only voters can authorize.
The vote threshold your Measure A needs to pass depends on what it is.
School Bonds
School facility bonds historically needed a two-thirds supermajority. Proposition 39, passed in 2000, lowered the threshold to 55 percent for school bonds that limit spending to construction, rehabilitation, and equipping of school facilities, include a specific project list, require annual independent audits, cap the resulting property tax rate, and appoint a citizens’ oversight committee to monitor spending.3Legislative Analyst’s Office. Proposition 39 – School Facilities. 55% Local Vote. Bonds, Taxes. Accountability Requirements A school bond that doesn’t meet every one of those conditions falls back to the two-thirds threshold.
General Taxes vs. Special Taxes
If Measure A proposes a tax, read the fine print on where the money goes. A general tax funds the local government’s overall budget and passes with a simple majority, but it must appear on a regularly scheduled general election ballot. A special tax earmarks revenue for a specific purpose and requires a two-thirds supermajority.4California Legislative Information. California Constitution Article XIII C Section 2 A sales tax “for parks” is a special tax. The same sales tax deposited into the general fund, with an informal promise from the council to spend it on parks, is a general tax. That drafting choice alone determines whether the measure needs 50 percent or 67 percent to pass.
How a Measure A Gets on Your Ballot
A local measure reaches the ballot one of two ways: the governing body refers it, or residents petition to put it there.
Governing Body Referrals
County boards of supervisors, city councils, and special district boards can vote to place a measure directly on the ballot. This is the more common path for tax and bond proposals because the governing body controls the wording, timing, and election at which the measure appears.5Ballotpedia. Laws Governing Local Ballot Measures in California For general taxes, the measure must appear on a ballot with a regularly scheduled election for members of the governing body, unless there’s a declared emergency.4California Legislative Information. California Constitution Article XIII C Section 2
Citizen Petitions
Residents can also qualify a measure by collecting signatures. The thresholds vary by jurisdiction:
- County initiatives need signatures equal to at least 10 percent of the total votes cast for all gubernatorial candidates in that county at the last election for Governor.6California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 9118
- City initiatives in cities with more than 1,000 registered voters need signatures from at least 10 percent of the city’s registered voters.5Ballotpedia. Laws Governing Local Ballot Measures in California
- City initiatives in cities with 1,000 or fewer registered voters need 25 percent of registered voters or 100 voters, whichever is fewer.5Ballotpedia. Laws Governing Local Ballot Measures in California
Once a petition is certified, the governing body can either adopt the proposed ordinance itself or send it to voters.6California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 9118 In practice, governing bodies almost always send it to voters, especially when taxes or controversial policy is involved.
A 2026 Change That Could Affect Future Measure As
A constitutional amendment set for the November 2026 statewide ballot could reshape how local tax measures work. Right now, citizen-initiated special taxes need only a simple majority, while governing-body-proposed special taxes need two-thirds. The 2026 initiative would raise the citizen-initiative threshold to two-thirds as well, prohibit charter cities from imposing real estate transfer taxes above the existing statutory rate, and invalidate previously approved taxes that don’t meet the new requirements two years after enactment.7Ballotpedia. California Two-Thirds Vote Requirement for Special Taxes and Charter City Real Estate Transfer Tax Prohibition Initiative 2026 If it passes, any future local Measure A proposing a special tax would need two-thirds approval no matter who put it on the ballot.
Finding the Text of Your Measure A
Because the label tells you almost nothing, the only way to know what your Measure A actually does is to read it. Your county registrar of voters publishes the full text of each measure, the official arguments for and against, rebuttals, and the fiscal impact analysis. City clerks handle the same materials for city measures. Both offices also keep archives of past election results if you want to see how a previous Measure A turned out.
The California Secretary of State’s website offers general ballot measure information and a voter status lookup, but detailed coverage of local measures lives with county and city election officials.8California Secretary of State. Ballot Measures Go to your county registrar’s site, pick the election year, and the measure text, arguments, and fiscal analysis will be there together.