Election 2026: Transit Wins Big Where It Mattered Most

It was an exciting night for Democrats across the country yesterday. Results for statewide and national races led to a big blue wave for elected officials. But what about the transit initiatives across the country that the national media aren’t covering?

The American Public Transportation Association counted 23 transit measures on this year's ballot, with upwards of $26 billion in multi-year funding at stake. By Wednesday morning, at least 13 had passed or were leading, three had failed or were trailing, and seven had no reported result yet. Here are the highlights of a great night at the ballot box for many public transportation across the country. For the latest updates, check out the results page on the Center for Transportation Excellence website.

The Bay Area: The Big One

The Regional Transit Measure passed in all five counties where it was on the ballot. The regional yes vote stood near 62 percent. San Francisco backed it most strongly at almost 78 percent. Santa Clara was the closest call at about 54 percent.

The measure adds a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and a full cent in San Francisco. Over 14 years it is expected to raise about $14 billion for BART, Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, VTA, and others. That is more than half of all the money at stake nationwide this year.

The stakes were real. BART had warned it could close 10 stations. AC Transit had warned of deep bus cuts. San Francisco voters also passed Prop H, a parcel tax for Muni, with about 72 percent.

Seattle: Doubling Down

Seattle's Proposition 1 was passing with nearly 73 percent on election night. It doubles the city's transit sales tax from 0.15 to 0.3 percent and is expected to raise about $138 million a year for a decade. The money buys more bus service, especially at night and on weekends. It also covers transit safety and the city's share of Sound Transit expansion work.

Pierce County: A Long Time Coming

This may be the most satisfying result of the night. Pierce Transit's Prop 1 was leading with 58 percent. In 2012, a similar measure failed by just 704 votes.

The measure raises Pierce Transit's sales tax from 0.6 to 0.9 percent. That still leaves it below peers like Community Transit and Intercity Transit. The agency promises a 47 percent increase in bus service, four new routes, an end to hourly waits on weekdays, and free rides for seniors.

Colorado: Passenger Rail Gets a Yes

Voters along Colorado's Front Range were approving a new tax for passenger rail on election night. Issue 7A adds a third-of-a-cent sales tax in about 30 communities from Fort Collins to Pueblo. It's projected to raise about $295 million in its first full year, all of it for the Colorado Connector, the region's new intercity passenger train.

The money would add a fourth daily trip between Denver and Fort Collins and extend service south to Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Front Range passenger rail has been talked about for decades. If this lead holds, the region would finally have dedicated local money to build it out.

The count does come with an asterisk. A ballot printing error sent the measure to roughly 800,000 voters who live outside the rail district. State officials say those ballots will be moved onto the correct ballot style, so ineligible votes on 7A won't count.

Ohio and Michigan: Renewals Win, New Taxes Struggle

In Stark County, Ohio, voters renewed SARTA's quarter-cent sales tax with 54 percent. The same voters rejected a renewal-plus-increase back in May. In Eaton County, Michigan, about two-thirds of voters renewed funding for EATRAN.

Delaware County, Ohio, went the other way. Voters rejected a first-ever 0.2 percent transit sales tax by a 61 to 39 margin. That puts on hold plans for new microtransit zones, seven-day service, and commuter express routes.

Fresno: A Transportation Tax Stumbles

Fresno County's Measure S was trailing about 54 to 46 in early returns. It would have replaced the county's 40-year-old transportation tax with a 30-year half-cent tax for roads, transit, and other projects. A separate city general-fund tax, Measure D, was passing. That keeps money flowing to the City of Fresno, though without dedicated transit dollars.

Florida: The Measure That Wasn't About Transit

The result that could hurt transit the most wasn't a transit measure at all. Florida voters approved Amendment 3, a large homestead property tax cut, with about 62 percent. It needed 60. A state analysis projects local governments could lose nearly $5 billion in the first year, rising toward $12 billion a year. Miami-Dade's mayor has already named public transit among the services at risk.

The Takeaway

Voters said yes when they could see what they would lose or what they would get.

The final numbers will come later this month. For now, transit had a good night where the most money and the most riders were on the line.

A blue wave handed Democrats control of both the House and the Senate. That may end up mattering just as much for transit as the local initiatives that passed. The Trump administration has pushed to cut transit and Congress has followed along. Its 2027 budget request would slash federal transit funding by 22 percent and passenger rail by 82 percent. And the stopgap spending bill Congress passed in September already cut federal transit funding by 20 percent.

Now the next surface transportation bill is due. The current extension runs out Dec. 11. If it slips into next year, as these bills often do, a Democratic Congress will have a much bigger hand in writing it. The president still holds the veto pen. Even so, transit's prospects on Capitol Hill look a lot better this morning.

Nov. 3 Transit Measures Overview

Measure	Where	What it does	Result
Regional Measure RTM	Bay Area, Calif. (5 counties)	14-year sales tax: 1 cent in S.F., half-cent elsewhere. About $1B a year for BART, Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit and others.	Passed, about 62%
Proposition H	San Francisco	15-year parcel tax for Muni, about $160M a year.	Passed, about 72%
Issue 7A	Front Range Passenger Rail District, Colo.	New 0.333% sales tax, about $295M in its first full year, to extend Colorado Connector passenger rail to Colorado Springs and Pueblo.	Leading
Measure I	San Bernardino County, Calif.	Extends half-cent transportation tax past 2040. Share goes to rail, transit and senior transportation.	Passing, about 68% (needs two-thirds)
Measure A	Riverside County, Calif.	Renews half-cent transportation tax for highways, local roads and public transit.	Passing, about 70% (needs two-thirds)
Transportation sales tax	Charleston County, S.C.	25-year half-cent extension, about $4.25B. Roughly 20% to transit.	Passed
Measure S	Fresno County, Calif.	30-year half-cent tax for roads, transit and other projects. 25% to transit.	Trailing, about 46% yes
Proposition 1 (Seattle Transit Measure)	Seattle	0.3% sales tax for 10 years, about $138M a year. Replaces the expiring 0.15% tax.	Passing, about 73%
Pierce Transit Proposition 1	Pierce County, Wash.	Raises transit sales tax from 0.6% to 0.9%. 47% more bus service, free rides for seniors.	Leading, 58%
2028 SPLOST	Cobb County, Ga.	Renews 1% general sales tax, about $1.2B. Includes about $13M for CobbLinc transit.	Passed
Penny sales tax	Greenville County, S.C.	New 1% sales tax, mostly roads. About 3% for Greenlink transit.	Failed
Transit sales and use tax	Delaware County, Ohio	First-ever 0.2% transit sales tax for service expansion.	Failed, 39% yes
SARTA sales tax renewal	Stark County, Ohio	10-year renewal of the 0.25% transit sales tax.	Passed, 54%
Transit sales tax	Lawrence, Kan.	Raises transit sales tax from 0.2% to 0.3% through 2037. Keeps buses fare-free.	On track to pass
VIA withdrawal election	Converse, Texas	Whether to leave VIA Metropolitan Transit.	Stayed with VIA, about 78% against leaving
EATRAN millage renewal	Eaton County, Mich.	Five-year renewal of property tax for the county transportation authority.	Passed, about 66%
SMART millage renewal	Macomb County, Mich.	Five-year, 0.94-mill renewal for SMART bus and paratransit service.	Not yet reported
Transportation bond	Arlington County, Va.	Up to $69.7M in bonds, including about $46M for Metro capital.	Not yet reported
Regional transit sales tax	Yampa Valley (Routt County), Colo.	New 0.5% sales tax to fund the regional transportation authority voters created in 2025.	Not yet reported
Proposition 424	Tempe, Ariz.	New 0.5% sales tax. A fifth goes to transit, bike and pedestrian projects.	Not yet reported
TSPLOST	Douglas County, Ga.	Six-year 1% transportation sales tax, mostly roads, with some transit upgrades.	Not yet reported
TCATA Dial-a-Ride millage	Benton Harbor, Mich.	20-year renewal of 1.25-mill property tax for Dial-a-Ride.	Not yet reported
Economic development amendment	West Memphis, Ark.	Economic development district and taxing-authority question on CFTE's list.	Not yet reported

Tally as of the morning of Nov. 4: 13 passed or leading, 3 failed or trailing, 7 not yet reported. Measure list from the APTA Center for Transportation Excellence. Results are unofficial and from local news reports. Counting continues.

Also notable: Florida Amendment 3, a statewide homestead property tax cut, passed with about 62%. It isn't one of the 23, but it could squeeze local budgets that fund transit.

Want more? Members get bonus commentary and behind-the-scenes content at transportopia.org/patreon.

And catch our Oct. 27 News & Views podcast episode where we previewed many of these measures. Full wrap-up on next Tuesday's News & Views