California Right to Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel Initiative (2026)
| California Right to Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Higher education governance and Business regulations | |
| Status Cleared for signature gathering | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The California Right to Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel Initiative (#25-0011) may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
The initiative would establish the right of individuals, organizations, universities, and public entities to boycott, divest, and sanction Israel as a form of political expression. The law would prohibit state and local governing bodies from penalizing individuals or organizations that engage in such actions.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title is as follows:
| “ | Prohibits government entities from restricting boycotts and other activities supporting Palestinian rights or opposing Israel's actions. Initiative statute.[2] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets is as follows:
| “ | Prohibits policies by state and local governments and agencies, California State University, and University of California that: (1) restrict engagement in activities—including boycotts, divestments, and sanctions—that express support for Palestinian rights or opposition to Israel’s actions (“BDS activities”); or (2) condition eligibility for contracts, grants, or other funding on agreement not to participate in BDS activities. Prohibits high schools, colleges, and universities from disciplining students for certain BDS activities. Prohibits public investment and retirement funds from adopting policies that restrict support of BDS activities.[2] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the ballot measure can be read here.
Path to the ballot
An initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are 21 states that allow citizens to initiate state statutes, including 14 that provide for direct initiatives and nine (9) that provide for indirect initiatives (two provide for both). An indirect initiated state statute goes to the legislature after a successful signature drive. The legislatures in these states have the option of approving the initiative itself, rather than the initiative appearing on the ballot.
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 546,651 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification is June 25, 2026. However, the secretary of state suggested deadlines for turning in signatures of January 12, 2026, for initiatives needing a full check of signatures and April 17, 2026, for initiatives needing a random sample of signatures verified.
Initiative #25-0011
- August 11, 2025: Hatem al-Bazian and Malak Afaneh filed the initiative.
- October 16, 2025: The initiative was cleared for signature gathering.
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Full text #25-0011," accessed August 12, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
