San Mateo County's election night returns showed voters favoring a regional public transit tax expected to bring in about $1 billion each year for Bay Area transportation. Semiofficial results posted at 9 p.m. by the San Mateo County Elections Office put support at 59.6% locally for the measure, which sets a half-cent sales tax in San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara counties, and a 1% tax in San Francisco. Bay City News reported that support across the five counties reached 61.4%. Final regional returns had the Regional Transit Measure (RTM) passing with about 61.6% support, with USA Today recording 601,093 yes votes (61.3%) and 379,350 no votes (38.7%) as of November 4, 2026. The RTM will add a 0.5% sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, and a 1% sales tax in San Francisco, generating an estimated $1 billion each year for 14 years. The money will go to BART, Muni, AC Transit, Caltrain, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, San Francisco Bay Ferry, and Golden Gate Transit, with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and participating transit agencies managing the new revenue. KQED described the measure as a way to keep current service levels at major Bay Area transit systems, avoiding an immediate funding shortfall for public transit. The result secures a long-term funding stream, but agencies still face operational, ridership, labor, and capital-planning hurdles. For more details, see KQED's coverage and USA Today.
Education funding bonds also passed with majority approval from county voters, pointing to continued investment in local schools. The Burlingame School District bond measure passed with 68.26% yes votes (4,205 votes), authorizing $100 million in bonds with an estimated tax of $16 per $100,000 of assessed value. The San Mateo-Foster City School District bond passed with 60.54% yes votes (14,278 votes), authorizing $498 million in bonds and an estimated tax of $29 per $100,000. A potential $848 million bond package for Cañada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College was also on the ballot, showing broad support for education investment beyond K-12 districts. These results are detailed in the San Francisco Chronicle election results.
Redwood City's rent control measure, Measure E, failed to gain enough support. Early results showed opposition at 58.25%, and final NBC Bay Area figures reported 56.79% "No" (7,742 votes) to 43.21% "Yes" (5,890 votes). Measure E would have capped rent increases for certain units built before February 1, 1995, at 5% or 60% of inflation, whichever was lower, with the inflation-based ceiling estimated at about 2.28% in San Mateo County. The measure also included just-cause eviction protections, anti-harassment rules, and stronger tenant rights to return after renovations, and was estimated to affect about 20% of Redwood City's housing stock. The proposal targeted older rental housing, combining price regulation with eviction and tenant-protection rules. More information is available from NBC Bay Area and East Bay Times.
San Bruno residents voted down Measure DD, a proposed ban on the sale, possession, and use of California-approved "safe and sane" fireworks. The measure needed more than 50% approval to pass, but available election results showed it did not reach that mark. The subject and legal effect of the proposal were outlined in the San Francisco Chronicle ballot guide.
Mixed response to affordable housing in Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay voters appeared split over a controversial affordable housing development, Measure Q, which would have upheld a 99-year lease for 40 supportive low-income apartments for older farmworkers and a resource center. NBC Bay Area reported the measure at 50.53% "No" (1,562 votes), showing a narrow rejection. The proposal's long lease term and focus on older farmworkers highlighted the local nature of the dispute, in contrast to Redwood City's clearer rejection of rent regulation. The close result points to ongoing debates about housing affordability and development in coastal communities.
For additional context on rental policy debates in California, see this recent coverage of San Diego's approach to tenant protections.
