Voter Guide · Salinas 2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3
Cheat sheet
Your 2026 election, on one page.
Four City Council seats are on the ballot. Here’s who’s running, how much they’ve raised, who’s writing the biggest checks, and what to remember before you fill out yours.
$1.36MRaised, 2024–25 cycle
722Disclosed contributions
$51KBiggest single check
Dollar figures come from 2024–2025 filings (as of ). The next semi-annual FPPC reports — covering January–June 2026 — are due July 31; updated numbers land here in early August.
transparentsalinas.org/cheat-sheet · Source: FPPC Form 460 · City of Salinas NetFile portal
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Dates to remember
Mark them now — some of these are sooner than you think.
Voter registration deadlineMon, Oct 19Same-day registration available at the county clerk through Election Day.
Mail ballots sentMon, Oct 5Every active registered voter in Monterey County is mailed a ballot.
Early voting opensSat, Oct 24Vote centers open across the county. Locations on the Monterey County Elections site.
Election DayTue, Nov 3Polls close at 8 p.m. Drop boxes and vote centers stay open until then.
Dates reflect the published 2026 California General Election calendar. Confirm at montereycountyelections.us.
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What’s on your ballot
Four Salinas City Council seats are up, plus the U.S. House seat for CA-19. Three council seats — D1, D4, D6 — are mid-term and not on the 2026 ballot.
Official City of Salinas district map. Tap the map for the City’s searchable version, or look up your address below.
Two local items are headed to the Nov 3, 2026 ballot. Final ballot language and assigned measure letters were not yet certified as of — treat names as working titles until then.
Local · City of Salinas · Sales tax
Measure G — Sales tax extension
Extends an existing 1¢ tax
A vote on whether to extend the existing 1¢ local sales tax that Salinas voters approved in 2014. The tax is currently set to sunset in 2029. This measure would keep it in place at the same rate — not raise it.
A YES vote
Keeps the 1¢ sales tax going past its 2029 sunset — same rate, not an increase. City services keep roughly $30 million a year.
A NO vote
Lets the tax expire in 2029. The City projects a roughly $47 million shortfall (about 21% of the budget) starting FY 2030–31, with cuts to services and staff.
What we know
The tax brings in roughly $30 million a year ($34.5M in FY 2025–26).
It’s a general-fund tax: police, fire/911, homelessness response, streets and sidewalks, parks, youth and senior programs, affordable-housing support.
Has an independent citizen oversight committee and annual audits.
City Council voted 7–0 on March 24, 2026 to advance it to the November ballot.
It’s an extension, not a new tax — the rate stays the same as today.
Local polling reported by Monterey County NOW (n=400) showed about 58% support; a general tax needs 50%+1 to pass.
What we don’t know yet
The final certified ballot title and 75-word summary.
The official measure letter — “G” is the working label until the City Clerk certifies it.
The full impartial analysis and arguments for / against from the Voter Information Pamphlet.
Whether any organized opposition committee files an FPPC committee.
Local · City of Salinas · Referendum
Rent reform referendum
Referendum on rent stabilization repeal
A vote on the council’s June 2025 repeal of Salinas’s rent stabilization package. Tenant advocates gathered enough signatures to put the repeal on the ballot for voters to decide directly. This is a referendum on the repeal, so the meaning of yes/no is the reverse of what many expect:
A YES vote
Approves the council’s repeal. The four renter protections — the 2.75% rent cap, just-cause eviction, anti-harassment, and the rental registry — are permanently removed. (The landlord-side “Protect Salinas Residents” committee urges YES.)
A NO vote
Rejects the council’s repeal. The four renter protections stay in effect. (The tenant-side “Protect Salinas Renters” committee urges NO.)
What we know
The original ordinance package — a 2.75% annual rent cap, just-cause eviction, tenant anti-harassment, and a rental registry — was passed under a previous council.
The current City Council voted 5–2 on June 3, 2025 to repeal all four ordinances.
The group Protect Salinas Renters filed a referendum petition on July 3, 2025 and gathered about 10,000 signatures from ~200 volunteers.
The Council voted 4–3 on Sept 23, 2025 to place the referendum on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot.
Two FPPC-registered committees are actively raising money — the money trail is already visible below.
What we don’t know yet
The official measure letter and final certified ballot text.
The City Attorney’s official impartial analysis — the plain-English ballot-title wording voters will see (due by early August). The YES/NO meaning above is confirmed by the California Elections Code and by both campaigns.
Final list of endorsing organizations, landlord groups, and council members on each side.
Status of the Monterey County DA’s reported review of some petition signatures.
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How to actually vote
Three ways to cast a ballot in Monterey County.
Method 01
Mail your ballot
Your ballot arrives by mail in early October. Fill it out, sign the back of the envelope, and return it — postage is prepaid.
Postmark or drop-box by Nov 3.
Method 02
Use a drop box
Drop boxes around Salinas are listed on the county elections site. No envelope handling, no postage, no line.
Open until 8 p.m. on Nov 3.
Method 03
Vote in person
Some vote centers open Oct 24; all are open on Election Day. Bring your mailed ballot to surrender, or register and vote on the same day.
FPPC Form 460 filings — verified, public, and the same source your local paper uses.
Every dollar figure on this page comes from FPPC Form 460 Schedule A filings published by the City of Salinas through the NetFile public portal. Totals reflect the 2024–2025 reporting period — the period covered by current filings as of . Candidates who declared in 2026 may not yet have filed; their cards say so.
Donor counts treat each unique name + address as one donor. The FPPC contribution limit for Salinas City Council races is $5,500 per donor per election.
Plain-English glossary
FPPC
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission — the agency that enforces campaign-finance disclosure law.
Form 460
The standard report a campaign committee files. It lists money raised, money spent, and who gave.
Schedule A
The page inside Form 460 that itemizes every monetary contribution of $100 or more — with the donor’s name, city, employer, and occupation.
PAC (Political Action Committee)
A committee that raises and spends money to influence elections. It is not a candidate’s own committee.
Independent expenditure
Money spent to support or oppose a candidate without coordinating with that campaign. Contribution limits do not apply.
Contribution limit
The maximum a single source can give one candidate per election. In Salinas City Council races, it is $5,500.
Late contribution (Form 497)
A contribution of $1,000 or more received in the 90 days before an election. Must be disclosed within 24 hours.
