The Results are in: What Voters Decided for Child Care Across the Country

What the Mid-Term Elections Mean for Child Care

With state budgets tight and families feeling the squeeze, it was no surprise to hear it coming up in debates and appearing on ballots. This year—twelve ballot initiatives went before voters, as counties and local communities proposed their own dedicated funding streams for child care. At the state level, gubernatorial candidates in 13 states outlined plans to address child care affordability and shortages. Mayoral candidates in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California, also put child care plans front and center.

From ballot measures to gubernatorial races, voters pushed for stronger, more stable child care, funding to make care more affordable and easier to find. Below, we break down which measures have passed so far, who won, and what it all means for child care in 2027 and beyond.

By the numbers: 2026 Midterms

• In 13 of the 36 governor’s races on the ballot (AL, AK, GA, MA, MI, MN, NH, NY, OH, OR, WI, CA, OK) candidates proposed specific plans to address child care.
• As of Nov. 6, 2026, Six of the 12 child care and early education ballot measures passed and four more are leaning towards approval.
• As of Nov. 6, 2026, the measures approved so far will invest approximately $69.9 million in new funding for child care and early childhood over the next year.

Key Child Care Ballot Initiative Results

This year, a record number of child care and early childhood initiatives appeared on midterm ballots, doubling from six in 2025 to 12 in 2026. This list is not exhaustive, but highlights several notable localities:

Boulder County, Colorado: Voters in Boulder County, Colorado APPROVED County Issue 1A, a permanent property tax increase to help make child care more affordable, add child care slots, and strengthen the early childhood workforce. The County expects to begin collecting the tax starting in Jan. 2027, with funding to begin flowing by mid-2027.

• Funding Goals: Funding from the measure will subsidize child care costs for families earning up to $150,000 a year, expand the number of infant and toddler seats, and support grants for employee retention and workforce development. The tax increase is expected to generate approximately $30 million annually for child care and preschool.
• Funding Goals: Reauthorization will expand access to toddler seats, increase investment in early childhood services for families who work nontraditional hours, and improve the quality of early child care by exploring public-private partnerships. Supporters say the reauthorization will allow Pre-K 4 SA to better plan long-term solutions that expand services for infants and create more community partnerships.
• Funding Goals: Revenue from the tax would be split as follows: 20% for child care, 10% for housing, 10% for tourism marketing, and 60% for public infrastructure and safety. The measure is expected to generate $190,000 a year for child care scholarships, doubling the County’s funding. Clear Creek is one of two counties that proposed dedicating a percentage of their lodging tax revenue to child care—creating a consistent revenue stream year after year.
• Funding Goals: The measure is expected to dedicate $12.5 million a year to expanding child care access and affordability for families with low and middle incomes. Revenue would also be used to improve wages and compensation for child care providers and early educators.
• Funding Goals: The measure is expected to generate approximately $400 million to $450 million a year with 22% dedicated to expanding access to infant and toddler care, supporting families on child care waitlists, and ensuring providers receive fair compensation to stay in the workforce. Overall, 60% of revenue is dedicated to health care, child care, food security, and other family services; 22.5% is to Tijuana River sewage cleanup; and 16% is for public safety, wildfire prevention, and emergency response; and 1.5% is dedicated towards administration and oversight of the tax.

San Antonio, Texas: Voters in San Antonio, Texas APPROVED Pre-K 4 SA Ballot Measure reauthorizing the tuition-free early childhood education program for another 20 years. The reauthorization continues the 0.125% sales and use tax that helps fund the program, which had been set to expire in 2029.

Clear Creek County, Colorado: Voters in Clear Creek County, Colorado voted on Ballot Issue 1A, which would raise the county’s lodging tax from 2% to 6% to help fund child care, housing, tourism marketing, public infrastructure, and safety. As of Nov. 6, 2026, the measure is leaning towards approval with 52.89% of the vote. A lodging tax is a percentage added to the price of a short-term stay in a hotel, motel, inn, or short-term rental. If the measure passes, the County expected to begin collecting the tax starting Jan. 1, 2027.

Marin County, California: Voters in Marin County, California voted on Measure P ,a special parcel tax of 5 cents per square foot of building space to fund affordable child care, high-quality early childhood education, and improved compensation for educators. Parcel taxes are based on the size of the building on a parcel of land rather than a home’s property value. As of Nov. 6, 2026, the measure is leaning towards approval with 53.51 % of the vote. If approved, Measure P would expire after 15 years.

San Diego County, California: Voters in San Diego County, California voted on Measure B , a half-cent sales tax to fund child care, health care, food security, public safety, and cleanup of Tijuana River sewage. As of Nov. 6, 2026, the measure is leaning towards approval with 51.7% of the vote.

What Governors & Mayors Have Proposed on Child Care

Governors play a key role in shaping child care and early childhood services in their states, and mayors are increasingly doing the same in their cities. The list, below isn’t exhaustive, but it shows how newly elected and re-elected leaders plan to tackle child care issues in their states. These are the commitments advocates can help them keep.

• Wisconsin Gov.-elect David Crowley, D-WI., proposed a plan universal child care that would guarantee a spot for every child under age of 5 in Wisconsin Shares, the state’s child care assistance program. He supports capping child care costs at 7% of a family’s income and supporting the child care workforce through paid family leave. To fund these proposals, Crowley expressed interest in using Wisconsin's state budget surplus and exploring the use of sales tax revenue.
• Minnesota Gov.-elect, Amy Klobuchar D-MN., proposed expanding access child care options- especially in rural Minnesota- by training more care workers, building more child care facilities, cutting red tape, and lowering overhead for providers. Klobuchar also called for creating additional incentives for unique child care models and streamlining funds that come into the state for child care. She has pledged to root out child care fraud and stop it before it begins through top-to-bottom state audits, vetting of state contracts and grants, in-person inspections and unannounced visits, and a permanent ban for anyone convicted of fraud against state grants or contracts.
• Oklahoma Gov.-elect Mike Mazzei R-OK., plans to address the state’s child care challenges by restoring its $5 pandemic-era child care add-on , a per-child payment to providers that ended on April 2026. He intends to bring back the add-on to support child care providers that operate as small businesses.
• New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte R-NH, who won reelection, highlighted continued plans to prioritize child care. Ayotte committed to easing the burden of high child care costs, along with pledges to “cut red tape” to build more housing, lower energy costs, and expand “opportunities for affordable educational and workforce training”. During her first term, Ayotte signed a bill creating a tax credit for businesses that invest in expanding the number of available child care slots and approved a $22 million funding increase for the Child Care Scholarship Program.
• Washington, D.C.: Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George, D-DC., proposed a plan for “universal affordable child care” capping child care costs at 7% of a family’s income. Lewis Goerge plans to boost investment in family, friend, and neighbor care, co-locate infant and toddler programs in DC Public Schools, and create a dedicated facilities grant fund for child care expansion. To invest in the workforce, Lewis Gerge committed to building on the success of the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund and maximizing enrollment in affordable early childhood education degree and certification programs.
• Los Angeles, California: Mayor-elect Nithya Ramen, D-CA.,proposed a plan to expand child care supply, make it easier for child care providers to open, and help families find the care they need and access subsidies. Ramen plans to eliminate zoning barriers, fast-track permits for new child care facilities, and reduce or eliminate permitting costs for new and expanded child care centers. Her platform also focused on making child care easier for families to find by strengthening and integrating existing child care navigation infrastructure, such as partnering with child care resource and referral agencies, and convening local partners to build a coordinated early childhood strategy.

What's Next?

The 2026 midterms sent a clear message: from county ballot measures to governor’s races, voters and candidates across the political spectrum are ready to take bold action on child care issues while building on what already works. Child care isn’t a red issue or a blue issue. It’s a family issue, a business issue, a child development & early learning issue, and an economic issue. The campaigns are over, and the real work starts now. Leaders who ran on lowering costs and growing the economy can deliver on both by treating child care as the economic infrastructure it is. Advocates, partners, and policymakers share a responsibility to turn campaign promises into positive changes that every family can see, feel, and experience.

Here’s how to stay engaged as results are finalized and new leaders take office:

• Review the results: See how races in your state turned out in Associated Press's 2026 midterm results.
• Contact your elected officials. Share your story about why child care and early education matter to your family, your business, or your community. New officials are listening closely as they step into their new roles.
• Become an Advocate. Sign up for Child Care Aware of America's advocacy updates to stay informed and learn about opportunities to take action on child care.
• Share updates with CCAoA. Tell us about the latest developments, biggest priorities, and most pressing issues in your state. Contact Josie Escobar, CCAoA’s State Policy Manager, at joselle.escobar@usa.childcareaware.org.