Ballot Measures
Public Transit Revenue Measure District - Connect Bay Area Transit Initiative
Election
November 2026 Santa Clara County General Election
(Nov 3, 2026)
Jurisdiction
County • Santa Clara County
Election Type
Put on the Ballot by Voter Initiative
Source Disclaimer
Source Disclaimer
The information on this page — including summaries, "what your vote means" explanations, and arguments for and against each measure — is drawn directly from official State, County, or City election materials, such as the Official Voter Information Guide and county election offices, and is presented here for informational purposes only. Any opinions expressed on this site are clearly marked as Editorial and are distinct from this official source material. Links to outside websites are provided solely as a convenience for further research; SAJ Studios does not create, edit, or verify that third-party content, and each linked source is solely responsible for the accuracy and views expressed on its own site. We encourage voters to consult their official county elections office or the Secretary of State for the most current and authoritative information before voting.
Summary
To prevent major service cuts to BART and other transit, avoid increased traffic, and reduce pollution by: Preserving BART, Caltrain, VTA, SamTrans, AC Transit, Muni, other transit for everyone, including workers, students, seniors, persons with disabilities; Supporting transit safety, cleanliness, affordability, reliability; Repairing targeted roads/potholes; Requiring financial transparency, oversight, accountability; shall the measure enacting a 0.5% (Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara counties) and 1% (San Francisco) sales tax for 14 years generating approximately $980,000,000 annually, be adopted?
Fiscal Impact
What Your Vote Means
Approve the Measure
Reject the measure
Arguments
Primary Argument In-Favor
The Regional Transit Measure protects the public transit that people in our region depend on and invests in practical local transportation improvements to help our communities get around. It includes strong accountability and oversight that requires large transit agencies to show cost savings to continue to receive dedicated operating funding. Today, Bay Area transit faces a turning point. Without new funding from the Regional Transit Measure, we will experience significant and deep cuts to public transit service - setting us back decades. Caltrain, BART and VTA connect people to jobs, events, and activities across Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. Failure of this measure could result in major station closures and service cuts for both Caltrain and BART. Caltrain could be forced to close stations, reduce frequency, and stop late night and weekend service entirely. BART could close 15 stations and reduce service by 70%. The consequences would impact everyone. Thousands of people would be forced onto our already congested roads and freeways every day with more cars flooding Highways 101, 280, 87, and 85, worsening air pollution, making traffic jams start earlier and last longer, resulting in more time behind the wheel and less time home with our families. The Regional Transit Measure also invests money directly into Santa Clara County communities, making local transit more reliable and efficient, repairing potholes, reducing traffic, and improving safety. And it doesn't tax rent, utilities, prescription medicines, or most groceries. This measure is the right way to reduce traffic, support our local economy, and ensure families, seniors, people with disabilities, students, and workers have an affordable way to get where they need to go. Please join us - vote Yes on the Regional Transit Measure. www.connectbayarea.com
Rebuttal Argument to Primary Argument In-Favor
Stop this Gigantic New Sales Tax! This $14,000,000,000 Regional Transit Measure SALES TAX makes Bay Area life LESS AFFORDABLE. Our cost of living is too high already. This tax would worsen it: • Gas, groceries, rent, utility prices keep rising. • We'd ALL pay this tax DAILY, on most purchases. • Sales tax hikes add costs, aggravating the inflation problem. • Necessities are taxed: prepared food, clothing, pet food, over-the-counter medicines. • Our low-income neighbors, seniors, students, the disabled, will suffer terribly. Santa Clara County's SALES TAX rate will rise to at least 10.25%. • Imagine forfeiting at least $1.02 tax for every $10.00 of prepared food —$102.50 for $1,000 smartphones! Don't trust BART or VTA with more of your money! 10 • They're grossly mismanaged: In June, Santa Clara County's Civil Grand Jury found VTA's management of BART's $13,000,000,000 extension faces huge cost overruns, and suffers from weak board oversight. 3'4 VTA has a plan to divert our money to "bailout" that fiasco. • Our sales taxes for VTA already total more than $1 Billion/year. VTA hands tens of millions to BART. They want more! Since 2019, the major transit agencies' ridership fell 51%, yet expenses climbed 28%! • BART and VTA gave pay/benefits above $250,000 to 539 and 123 employees, respectively, in 2024. This TAX picks our pockets to fill theirs. • "Oversight"? Impotent. • Instead of demanding another BILLION dollars/year from us, transit agencies must better use existing taxpayer money. Fixes before funding! Don't award them more money until they stop their wasteful spending. Sales taxes EXCEEDING 10.2% throughout Santa Cara County? Outrageous! 7 Vote NO!
Primary Argument Against
This proposed five-county sales tax hike (Regional Transit Measure or RTM) is a $14
billion-dollar bailout for a broken system. Oversight is toothless. Let's demand
accountability and structural reform instead of forcing taxpayers to shoulder another
heavy burden.
• This measure expects working families to pay for ongoing mismanagement. Grand
juries in Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara have found major flaws in transit
financial management and oversight. Since 2019 ridership at the major transit
agencies has fallen 51%, yet expenses have risen 28%. Sales taxes grow with
inflation, so why has Transit outspent its revenues?
• Sales taxes are regressive, hitting lower-income residents the hardest. California's
are the nation's highest, exceeding the 9.25% sales-tax limit. RTM will push our county
sales tax to over 10%. While we tighten our belts, agencies want blank checks without
addressing their own administrative bloat.
• We need Fixes Before Funding, not higher taxes to sustain the inefficient status quo.
• Proponents are exploiting a loophole to bypass standard taxpayer protections,
attempting to pass this massive tax hike with a mere 50%+ 1 majority instead of the
traditional two-thirds requirement.
• Furthermore, this tax allows continuation of capital-heavy mega-projects. Major transit
projects are routinely years late, way over budget, yet deliver less than 20% of the
promised ridership. Instead of propping up outdated transit modes, agencies must
adapt to modern commuting realities and reallocate existing capital funds to cover
shortfalls.
• Santa Clara residents will pay the largest share of these regressive taxes because we
have the largest population. And yet most of the tax dollars will be spent in the other
four counties!
• That is not fair!!!
• Don't reward financial negligence.
• Don't let RTM treat you like an ATM.
• Fix Bay Area Rapid Transit by rejecting this tax and demand fiscal discipline.
• Learn more at: NoNewTransitTax.com
• Vote NO on the Measure-
Rebuttal Argument to Primary Argument Opposed
It's undeniable - severe Caltrain and BART station closures and service cuts would affect all of us in Santa Clara County - worsening traffic and straining transportation options for hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents who need to get to work or medical appointments. Please consider the FACTS and don't be misled by half-truths and exaggerations: FACT: Before supporting the Regional Transit Measure, business groups and local leaders ensured the measure included strong accountability and oversight requirements - BART and other large agencies must show cost savings to continue to receive dedicated operating funding. FACT: Based on detailed financial analysis and projections, it's clear that failure of this measure could result in major station closures and service cuts for both Caltrain and BART. Caltrain could be forced to close stations, reduce to hourly service, and stop late night and weekend service entirely. BART could close 15 stations and reduce service by 70%. FACT: Without this measure, commutes would be longer and more unpredictable as people who depend on transit are forced onto already-crowded streets, roads and highways. FACT: taxpayers from across Santa Clara County support the Regional Transit Measure, along with stakeholders who don't always agree- business, labor, environmental, and community groups. FACT: The Regional Transit Measure invests money directly into Santa Clara County communities, providing funding for transit improvements and road repaving including pothole repairs. FACT: Don't be misled- the Regional Transit Measure does NOT tax rent, utilities, prescription medicines, or most groceries. Preserve our Bay Area quality of life for future generations - www.connectbayarea.com
Arguments on this page are the opinions of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency.
Full Legal Text
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