Voters across the United States used the 2026 midterm elections to back child care and pre-kindergarten funding, approving ballot measures from Texas to Colorado and electing candidates who put early childhood at the centre of their campaigns. The results, reported by The Hechinger Report on 7 November, suggest affordable early learning has become a genuine vote-winner — and that parents of young children now expect the promises to be kept.
What voters decided
The clearest wins came on the ballot measures. In San Antonio, Texas, voters approved Proposition A, reauthorising the sales tax that funds Pre-K 4 SA, the city’s preschool programme. More than 72 per cent of voters backed the renewal. The current authorisation runs until 2029, when the new one takes effect for 20 years, locking in funding for a programme that has become a model for city-run pre-K.
Colorado delivered several wins at once. In Boulder County, voters approved Issue 1A, which raises property taxes to lower the cost of child care, increase pay for early childhood teachers and expand capacity to cut lengthy waitlists. Statewide, voters approved Proposition NN, which diverts money that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers toward K-12 education, with leftover funds eligible for early childhood education, and Amendment 87, which replaces the state’s flat income tax rate with a graduated rate to help pay for K-12 education and child care. Two mountain counties added their own measures: Clear Creek County’s Issue 1A raises the lodging tax on short-term stays from 2 per cent to 6 per cent and dedicates at least 20 per cent of the revenue to helping families pay for child care, including care for the tourism workforce, while Archuleta County’s Issue 1A raises the lodging tax and devotes 10 per cent of the revenue to child care.
In California, Marin County voters approved Measure P, a parcel tax that creates a fund to raise early educator pay and expand access to high-quality, affordable child care. In San Diego, early results showed Measure B passing: it devotes a share of a half-cent sales tax to child care, funding stipends for providers who serve infants and toddlers, early childhood mental health services and vouchers to help families pay for care. The same measure also funds wildfire prevention and sewage cleanup.
Two city-level measures rounded out the wins. In Baltimore, voters approved Question I, amending the city charter to dedicate $0.03 for every $100 in taxable property value — an estimated $17 million in the first year — to a newly created Baltimore Baby Fund, with an advisory board to decide how the money is spent. In Buchanan County, Missouri, voters approved Proposition K, devoting sales tax revenue of an estimated $4 million a year to mental health services for children and young people.
The candidates who campaigned on early childhood — and won
It was not only ballot measures. Several newly elected officials made early childhood a central part of their campaigns and won. In Maine, Governor-elect Hannah Pingree campaigned on universal child care and boosting pay for early educators. In Georgia, Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms made mandatory kindergarten and expansion of the state’s pre-K programme part of her pitch. In Wisconsin, Governor-elect David Crowley called for expanding the state’s child care subsidy so it covers all children aged five or younger.
In South Carolina, Dr Annie Andrews, a paediatrician, is heading to the Senate after making access to child care a platform priority. In Minnesota, Senator-elect Peggy Flanagan called for expanding the federal Head Start programme for low-income children and for universal pre-K.
Melissa Boteach, chief policy officer of the nonprofit Zero to Three, said the results reflect the strain parents with young children have reported in recent years, with more stress and greater difficulty paying for essentials. “It’s not a surprise that candidates that focused on affordability and solutions to child care and health care resonated with people who are struggling,” she said. “Across the board, candidates who ran on child care, who ran on kitchen table family issues, did well.”
Why it matters
Child care in the United States is expensive, scarce and staffed by some of the lowest-paid workers in the country — three problems that feed each other. When pay is low, teachers leave; when teachers leave, classrooms close or cut places; when places are scarce, prices rise for the families who can find care at all. The measures voters approved attack all three sides of that triangle at once: subsidies and vouchers to bring down what families pay, pay rises and stipends to keep educators in the job, and capacity funding to open more places.
The geography of the wins matters too. These were not victories in one kind of place. Voters backed child care funding in a Texas city, in Colorado counties, in California, in Baltimore and in rural Missouri. Sarah Baray, CEO of Pre-K 4 SA, put it plainly after the San Antonio result: “It isn’t just an individual family issue. San Antonio understands that this is a huge community need, and they’re willing to invest in it because it’s an investment in the community’s future.” Her point captures why the issue keeps crossing party lines: employers feel it when parents cannot find care, schools feel it when children arrive unprepared, and whole towns feel it when young families leave.
For the early years sector, the results also send a message to policymakers. Boteach noted that voters now expect candidates to deliver on these promises — and that “going into 2028 and beyond, the appetite for real momentum and real solutions on these issues is high.” Child care has moved from a niche concern to a mainstream electoral issue.
What didn’t pass — and what it shows
Not every measure succeeded, and the two defeats are instructive. In St. Louis, voters rejected a proposed sales tax that would have raised $22 million a year for child care subsidies and grants to providers. In Tempe, Arizona, voters rejected another sales tax increase that would have provided money for child care and other services.
The losses show voters are not signing blank cheques. A sales tax is a visible, regressive way to raise money, and both rejected measures leaned on one. The measures that passed tended to spread the cost more narrowly or fairly — a lodging tax paid largely by visitors, a property tax, a parcel tax, or money the state would otherwise have refunded. Campaigners will be studying that contrast closely before the next round of ballots.
What this means for parents and teachers
For parents in the places that voted yes, the practical effects will arrive gradually rather than overnight. In Boulder County and Marin County, the new revenue is aimed at lowering fees and raising educator pay, which should mean shorter waitlists and more stable classrooms. In San Antonio, the renewal secures Pre-K 4 SA for another generation of four-year-olds. In Baltimore, the Baby Fund’s advisory board will decide how the first $17 million is spent — parents there should watch for announcements about what it will cover. In San Diego, families should see vouchers and provider stipends once the measure is certified and the money starts flowing.
For early childhood teachers, the message is encouraging: voters are willing to pay for better wages. Stipends for infant and toddler providers, pay rises funded by new taxes, and salary supplements are all designed to do the same thing — keep experienced educators in classrooms instead of losing them to better-paid work elsewhere. A stable teacher is one of the best predictors of a good early learning experience: children learn more from adults who know them well and stay.
For parents everywhere else, the results are still useful. They show which funding models voters will support, which gives campaigners and local officials a tested playbook. And while the policy debate continues, the learning at home goes on. Our free Sight Word Generator builds personalised practice sheets for early readers, our Name Tracing Generator creates a ten-page tracing workbook with your child’s own name, and our free kindergarten quizzes give teachers and parents quick, playful ways to reinforce what children learn in the classroom. For the bigger picture on school readiness, see our report on Virginia’s kindergarten readiness gains — and what still holds children back.
What happens next
Implementation is the next test. San Antonio’s renewed authorisation does not take effect until the current one expires in 2029, so the programme’s leaders have time to plan — but also a long runway in which to keep public support. In San Diego, votes were still being counted when the results were reported, and certification comes first. In Baltimore, the Baby Fund exists on paper; its advisory board must now be appointed and decide its first spending priorities. Colorado’s statewide measures will shape the next budget cycle, and the county lodging-tax measures will start generating revenue as tourists book stays.
The politics will move quickly too. With candidates who campaigned on child care now heading into office in Maine, Georgia, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Minnesota, their first budgets will be watched as a test of whether campaign promises become policy. And with Boteach and others already pointing to 2028, expect early childhood funding to feature in the next presidential cycle as well. For parents and teachers, the midterm results are a beginning, not an ending — but they are the clearest sign yet that voters are prepared to pay for the early years.
Frequently asked questions
What did voters decide on child care in the 2026 midterms?
Voters approved a series of ballot measures funding child care and pre-K, including San Antonio’s Proposition A renewing funding for Pre-K 4 SA, tax measures in Boulder County, Marin County, San Diego and two Colorado counties, statewide measures in Colorado, Baltimore’s Baby Fund and a children’s mental health measure in Buchanan County, Missouri. Candidates who campaigned on early childhood also won governorships and Senate seats.
Which places approved new child care funding?
San Antonio (Texas), Boulder County, Clear Creek County and Archuleta County (Colorado), Marin County and San Diego (California), Baltimore (Maryland) and Buchanan County (Missouri) all approved measures, alongside two statewide measures in Colorado.
Did any child care measures fail?
Yes. Voters in St. Louis rejected a sales tax that would have raised $22 million a year for child care subsidies and provider grants, and voters in Tempe, Arizona rejected a sales tax increase that would have funded child care and other services.
What is Pre-K 4 SA?
Pre-K 4 SA is San Antonio’s city-run preschool programme for four-year-olds, funded by a local sales tax. Voters reauthorised the tax in the 2026 midterms with more than 72 per cent support; the new authorisation takes effect in 2029 and runs for 20 years.
Will this lower my child care bill?
It depends where you live. In places that approved funding, the measures are designed to lower costs through subsidies and vouchers, raise educator pay and expand capacity — but the effects will phase in over months and years as the money is collected and programmes are set up. In places without new measures, costs are unlikely to change.
Source: The Hechinger Report, 7 November 2026.
