Which state ballot measures had the closest vote margins in California?

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Question: Which state ballot measures had the closest vote margins in California?

Answer: There were 24 state ballot measures decided by less than a percentage point in California between 1910 and 2024. The ballot measure with the closest margin during that period was Proposition 74, which was defeated with a vote margin of 50.01% rejecting to 49.99% approving. The margin in absolute votes was 545. The following table shows the vote margins for the closest 10 ballot measure elections in California:[1]

Closest vote margins for California statewide ballot measures, 1910-2024
Measure Year Yes votes No votes Vote margin Outcome
# % # %
Proposition 74
1988
2,640,711
49.99%
2,641,256
50.01%
-0.01%
Defeatedd
Proposition 13
1952
2,150,073
49.96%
2,153,727
50.04%
-0.08%
Defeatedd
Proposition 3
1940
994,101
50.06%
991,722
49.94%
0.12%
Approveda
Proposition 18
1922
310,872
49.90%
312,131
50.10%
-0.20%
Defeatedd
Proposition 4
1915
124,610
49.90%
125,124
50.10%
-0.20%
Defeatedd
Proposition 9
1946
1,003,451
50.13%
998,375
49.87%
0.25%
Approveda
Proposition 1
2024
3,636,678
50.18%
3,610,436
49.82%
0.36%
Approveda
Proposition 8
1980
2,896,767
50.19%
2,874,309
49.81%
0.39%
Approveda
Proposition 21
1936
879,010
50.21%
871,558
49.79%
0.43%
Approveda
Proposition 12
1914
271,896
49.78%
274,325
50.22%
-0.44%
Defeatedd

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