California ballot measure · November 3, 2026

California Proposition 5, explained

Recall elections for state officers. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.

The official wording

CHANGES RECALL ELECTION PROCESS FOR STATEWIDE OFFICERS. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Under current law, voters elect replacement candidates at the same time as the recall election. This measure instead fills recall vacancies by subsequent special election or appointment. Fiscal Impact: Net fiscal effect unknown. In the event of a recall, savings or costs of millions of dollars to administer the election depending on the office recalled.

This is what appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.

What it actually means

A California recall ballot now asks two questions: whether to remove the official, and who should replace them. This measure removes the second question. A recalled office would be filled the way other vacancies are, and a recalled Governor would be replaced by the Lieutenant Governor.

If you vote YES

Recall ballots for state offices would ask only whether to remove the official.
If a Governor is recalled early in the term, the Lieutenant Governor would serve until voters elect a new Governor at a future statewide election; if later in the term, for the rest of the term.
Recalled legislators would typically be replaced through a separate special election; other recalled state officers would be replaced by the Governor's appointment under existing vacancy rules.
A recalled official could run in the special election to fill the seat.

If you vote NO

Recall ballots would keep asking both questions, and whoever gets the most votes on the second question takes office if the recall succeeds, even without a majority.
Replacement candidates would continue to appear on the same ballot as the recall question, as with 135 candidates in 2003 and 46 in 2021.

The numbers that matter

Net fiscal effect: Unknown; savings or costs of millions of dollars per recall
State recalls that qualified since 1913: 11, of which 6 removed the official

Why supporters say YES

Under the current system a replacement can take office with far less than a majority; had the 2021 recall succeeded, the leading replacement would have won with about 28% of recall voters.
— Official argument in favor, signed by the League of Women Voters of California, California Common Cause and former Fair Political Practices Commission Chair Dan Schnur
Separating the decision to remove an official from the choice of successor keeps recall as a tool against misconduct while preventing it from being used as a shortcut around regular elections.
— Official rebuttal, signed by the League of Women Voters of California and California Common Cause

Why opponents say NO

The measure takes away voters' ability to choose who replaces a recalled official and hands that choice to politicians through appointments, or leaves the seat empty until a later, costly special election.
— Official argument against, signed by Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones and Assemblymember Joe Patterson
The recall system has worked for more than 100 years; the measure's author was himself recalled, and a recalled official could run again to win back the seat.
— Official rebuttal to the argument in favor, signed by Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones and Assemblymember Joe Patterson

What’s genuinely uncertain

The fiscal effect cannot be estimated in advance: standalone special elections would add costs, while removing replacement candidates from recall ballots would save money, and both depend on how often recalls happen and for which offices.
The guide lists no supporters or opponents in its summary box, though official arguments were submitted on both sides.

The bottom line

Keeping a replacement from taking office with a small plurality, against voters losing the direct choice of who fills a recalled office.

One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.

Sources:vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov ballotpedia.org

Checking it against the official text

The California Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.

Confirm this with the official source

Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at California Secretary of State.

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