Berkeley Measure V: Half-Cent Sales Tax Leads by 978 Votes in Early Count

BERKELEY, ALAMEDA COUNTY — NOVEMBER 5, 2026. In the county’s November 4, 5:19 p.m. Pacific election update, local voters gave Measure V, a half-cent general sales tax proposal, 13,511 Yes votes and 12,533 No votes. The Yes side leads by 978 votes in this unofficial snapshot. Final voting totals have not been certified; additional eligible ballots may still be counted.

What the local results mean

Based on KQED’s Alameda County results, the Yes share is approximately 51.88% of the 26,044 valid Yes/No selections reported for Measure V. The percentage is not a share of the city’s total population or of all registered county voters. Registered voters who left this question blank are not included in the denominator. This is a time-stamped November 4 result examined on November 5, not an assertion of a new Thursday reporting batch.

Exactly what was proposed

Under the Berkeley City Council’s June 30 legislative record, Measure V would authorize a 0.5-percentage-point transactions-and-use tax for general municipal purposes, bringing the city’s combined sales tax rate to an estimated 10.75%. City sales-tax obligations are tied to taxable transactions and legally applicable exemptions, not simply every resident’s annual earnings. The proposal requires a simple majority of valid votes.

A narrow measure, not a certified outcome

The difference of 978 votes is much smaller than several other Berkeley ballot-measure margins. More ballots may change that gap; however, countywide remaining-ballot estimates cannot be assigned to Berkeley or to Measure V without further official precinct-level reporting. An early Yes majority is not official adoption.

Why city-by-city comparisons can mislead

Alameda County voters considered a wide range of measures, from taxes and public banking to local council seats, school governance and the five-county Regional Transit Measure. A measure identified by the letters V on one city ballot is not automatically the same policy as a measure bearing those letters elsewhere. The residents eligible to vote on this city question are not the same as every voter in Alameda County, nor are the legal thresholds necessarily uniform across local measures.

Election counting continues

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters continues the post-election canvass, including qualifying mailed and provisional ballots, and must complete the final legal result under state law. An early apparent lead does not establish a certified ordinance or authorize immediate changes to business tax bills. Any final measure implementation depends on both the official result and the ordinance’s effective provisions.

Related local coverage

Read California58’s related Bay Area election report for another distinct contest. Compare sources and reporting dates before interpreting changes in results. Details of the measure come from the official or published legal explanation. Neither the county tally nor the policy descriptions constitute an editorial endorsement of Yes or No.

Sources: KQED Alameda County election results, updated November 4 at 5:19 p.m. PT; Berkeley election legal materials linked above; Alameda County Registrar. Results are unofficial, not certified.

YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER NEEDS YOU

Help this community newspaper grow

Your support helps build coverage for the people and places this local newspaper serves.

Donate once by card ↗

Help Berkeley News grow Help strengthen reporting on Berkeley: community voices, important decisions and local life.

Support Berkeley News

Choose how to support Berkeley News:

Credit / Debit Card via Stripe

Choose an amount from $1. One-time support through the publisher's LINKERNO Stripe account.

Continue with PayPal Continue with Zelle

Zelle payments go to Vitaly Ataev Troshin. Please verify the recipient in your bank before sending. Availability depends on your bank.

Optional reader support. When possible, add “Berkeley News” to the payment note. Contributions are not advertised as tax-deductible. Support does not influence editorial decisions.

Optional support through the publisher. Contributions are not advertised as tax-deductible and never buy editorial influence.

Berkeley News — Your Community Newspaper

Have a correction, news tip, local announcement, or story to submit? Contact our editorial team. All submissions are reviewed before publication.