CTA Spends $65.5M on Prop. 3 and Barrera as Judge Rejects Ballot Bid

The California Teachers Association (CTA) has spent more than $65.5 million across statewide ballot measures and candidate campaigns ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026 election, according to an analysis published Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026 by Antioch Herald and EdSource, even as a federal judge denied a U.S. Department of Justice request to segregate up to 20,000 California ballots, KTVU FOX 2 and CalMatters reported.

CTA Pours $58.3 Million Into Proposition 3 and $8.4 Million Into Superintendent Race

By far the largest share of the teachers union's political spending has gone toward passing Proposition 3, which would make permanent a temporary tax on high earners that helps fund California public schools and community colleges. According to campaign finance data reported by EdSource's Daniel J. Willis as of Oct. 27, 2026, the California Teachers Association has spent $58.3 million in support of Proposition 3—representing 87% of all funding for the Yes on 3 campaign.

By contrast, the No on 3 campaign has raised a total of $5,500, meaning the California Teachers Association has spent nearly $9,700 for every $1 spent opposing the measure.

In the nonpartisan race for California Superintendent of Public Instruction, the California Teachers Association has spent $8.4 million as of Oct. 27 supporting San Diego Unified School District trustee Richard Barrera and opposing Chino Valley Unified School District board president Sonja Shaw. The union's outlays account for 96% of all independent spending in the state superintendent contest. Over the course of the campaign, the California Teachers Association has also contributed the legal maximum of $39,200 directly to Barrera's campaign committee.

Across other 2026 statewide contests and local measures, the California Teachers Association has spent:

• $1.5 million opposing Proposition 39, the statewide voter identification initiative;
• $500,000 opposing Proposition 43, which would raise the voter approval threshold for voter-proposed tax increases to two-thirds;
• $481,000 supporting local school bond measures across California; and
• $39,200 supporting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra.

Federal Judge David O. Carter Blocks Request to Segregate 20,000 California Ballots

In a separate election ruling Wednesday, Oct. 28, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter—an appointee of former President Bill Clinton in the Southern District of California—denied a Trump administration request to force California county election officials to segregate up to 20,000 ballots, warning that the requested order would "wreak havoc" on the Nov. 3 midterm election.

More than 3.7 million Californians have already returned ballots ahead of Nov. 3. The Department of Justice had sent letters demanding that California election officials review a federal list of nearly 20,000 registered voters within 48 hours and set aside their ballots before counting them.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in San Francisco temporarily blocked the federal demand after finding that the Department of Justice had bypassed privacy safeguards when assembling the list, ordering the government to destroy the underlying data while allowing that temporary order to remain in effect through Election Day. On Monday, a 3-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reject an emergency appeal filed by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in Los Angeles.

Following Monday's appellate setback, Justice Department attorneys asked Judge Carter to order counties to segregate any ballots cast by voters on the list during an unrelated lawsuit over California's voter rolls. Judge Carter rejected the request Wednesday, noting that a voter's ballot is separated from the signature envelope during processing to preserve ballot secrecy.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta condemned the federal effort as an attempt to sow distrust in elections, while ACLU Voting Rights Project senior staff attorney Theresa Lee welcomed the court's decision protecting California voters.