Berkeley voters decide Measure W on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. The City Council charter amendment would cut the fee to run for city office from $150 to the state amount, currently $25, and rewrite the rules for recalls, initiatives, referendums and filling council vacancies. It needs a simple majority.

Why it matters: It is the least-noticed of Berkeley's many November measures, but it changes how people get on the ballot and how voters can remove an officeholder.

The main changes

City Attorney Farimah Faiz Brown's impartial analysis lists these as the primary changes:

  • Filing fee: replaces the $150 candidate filing fee with the California Elections Code amount (currently $25), and ends the option of gathering signatures instead of paying.
  • Candidate statements: no longer required to list place of residence, place of birth or whether the candidate is a Berkeley taxpayer.
  • Public financing: raises the cap on public campaign financing money used for Fair Campaign Practices Commission and staff administration and enforcement from $250,000 to $400,000 per four-year cycle, adjusted for cost of living.
  • Recalls: the six-month wait before a recall can start counts from the start of the officeholder's current term; recall notices must be published within 30 days of the officer's answer deadline, and signed petitions filed within 90 days after that.
  • Initiatives and referendums: sets a deadline for the city clerk to certify a qualified petition, changes when the council must place qualified initiatives on the ballot, and makes referendum rules follow state law.
  • Vacancies: amends election timelines for filling mayor and council vacancies.
  • Housekeeping: swaps "qualified elector" for "registered voter" and drops a requirement to publish the charter and ordinances in book form.

California Choices lists no projected fiscal impact beyond the higher public-financing cap.

Who is for and against

The council placed Measure W on the ballot unanimously. The argument in favor, signed by Mayor Adena Ishii and Councilmembers Ben Bartlett, Brent Blackaby, Igor Tregub and Terry Taplin, says the changes "align the Charter with State regulations, modernize certain deadlines and requirements," and reduce "barriers to becoming a candidate for city office."

No official argument against was filed. A no vote keeps the current $150 fee, the signatures-in-lieu option, the $250,000 cap and the existing petition timelines.

Other Berkeley measures

Measure W shares the ballot with Measure V's half-cent sales tax, the $300 million Measure U bond, Measure X on rent control, Measure Y, Measure Z and Measure AA. See the full Election 2026 guide.