Prop 36 Landslide Becomes Template for Reforming CA in 2026

As ballot counting wraps up following the November 2024 election, Californians are projected to have passed Proposition 36 by an overwhelming margin with 69% of the vote — with every county voting “YES.” Prop 36, dubbed the “Make Crime Illegal Again” Initiative by its supporters such as Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California and Assemblymember-Elect for the 75th District.

“There’s no doubt about it — we need to use Prop 36 as the template for advancing common-sense reforms in California in 2026,” says DeMaio.

“If common-sense reformers in California want to have any hope of change with a liberal supermajority, the Prop 36 win gives us a blueprint — a massive public pressure campaign, especially on a public safety issue where Democrats are weak, can force politicians’ hands to back or remain neutral on a bill or ballot measure,” said DeMaio.

And this worked with Prop 36. Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democrat politicians initially attempted to undermine Prop 36 or remove it from the ballot, but conservative activists stood their ground on the popular issue and Democrats were backed into a corner of token opposition.

Democrat presidential nominee and former California Attorney General Kamala Harris even refused to comment on Prop 36, stating simply that she didn’t want to “create an endorsement one way or another around it.”

The results of Prop 36 will be certified in December. The measure will reverse the Prop 47 policies that benefit criminals and instead give police and prosecutors the tools they need to protect us. It will allow felony charges for thefts under $950, which would curb increasing "smash and grab" robberies that are killing businesses; authorize felony charges for possessing certain drugs like fentanyl; and increase sentences for various drug and theft crimes – stopping “gateway” crimes that have led to more violent crimes.

How to Use Prop 36 Success for Future Wins

DeMaio argues that California voters side with Republicans on state ballot measures a large portion of the time — with 7 out of 10 measures Reform California endorsed on in the November 2024 election slated to go their way. 

“We need to put good, conservative ideas on the ballot,” says DeMaio. But not just any ideas — ideas that DeMaio refers to as “70%+ ideas” that are conservative in nature but are popular enough that roughly 70% of the public agrees with them when explained in a neutral manner.

Ideas just like Prop 36.

And DeMaio doesn’t want to stop with proposing just one measure. He argues that conservatives should coordinate to get three “common-sense reform measures” on the ballot at once.

Placing a measure on the state ballot would require a million signatures, a large amount of funding, and paid signature gatherers and volunteers. But collecting signatures for three measures at once would make the process more impactful for less overhead.

And DeMaio already has three measures in mind for 2026 that would follow the 70%+ model of Prop 36 to fight taxes, require voter ID, and secure the border:

1. California Taxpayer Protection Initiative: This measure would make it harder for state and local politicians to impose costly and unfair tax hikes in the future. Specifically, the measure would supersede and nullify many of tax hikes being placed on the 2026 ballot, and it would close loopholes politicians have exploited in recent years to impose tax hikes. The measure would also strengthen the requirement that local tax hikes must receive two-thirds voter approval to go into effect, and would combat false and misleading ballot titles.

2. California Election Integrity with Voter ID Initiative: This measure would restore election integrity by requiring 1) verification of voter ID for any ballot counted; 2) accurate maintenance of voter rolls; 3) proper verification of ballot signatures, and 4) audits of the election process to ensure full compliance with federal, state and local laws.

3. Border Security Initiative: This measure would require 1) deployment of the state guard to the border; 2) full repeal of the Sanctuary State Law; and 3) immediate revocation of recently-approved state and local funding for several state welfare programs for illegal immigrants – including taxpayer-funded health insurance and legal defense programs.

Besides working to place these measures on the ballot in 2026, DeMaio also has hopes to change the composition of the State Legislature and resurrect common-sense bills killed by liberal Democrats over the years.

“Things can change in Sacramento if we replace these bad faith politicians with common-sense reformers, and we have the chance to do that in 2026,” he continued.

DeMaio and Reform California are leading a campaign to elect new and better leaders that will champion good ideas like Prop 36 and the above 3 proposed measures. DeMaio says that concerned Californians can join the fight by contributing to the campaign.