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Constitutional Right to Marry Amends California Constitution to recognize fundamental right to marry, regardless of sex or race. Removes language in California Constitution stating that marriage is only between a man and a woman. | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results
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| Source:Statement of Vote at theWayback Machine (archived February 10, 2025) | ||||||||||||||||
Proposition 3, titledConstitutional Right to Marry, was aCalifornia ballot proposition that passed by vote in the2024 general election on November 5, 2024.[1][2] The proposition repealedProposition 8, passed during the2008 general election, and amended the state constitution to protect same-sex marriage. It also ensured that same-sex couples would have the right to marry in California in case theUnited States Supreme Court ever overturnsObergefell v. Hodges, thus making it a symbolic gesture until then.[3][4]
The proposition amended Article I, Section 7.5 of theConstitution of California to read:
"Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.(a) The right to marry is a fundamental right. (b) This section is in furtherance of both of the following: (1) The inalienable rights to enjoy life and liberty and to pursue and obtain safety, happiness, and privacy guaranteed by Section 1. (2) The rights to due process and equal protection guaranteed by Section 7."
Supporters of the proposition argued that "although marriage equality for same-sex couples has been the law of the land in the United States for years, California’s Constitution still says that same-sex couples are not allowed to marry [and that] recent threats against fundamental rights have made it clear California must be proactive in protecting the freedom to marry regardless of gender or race"
Opponents of the proposition argued that it "removes ALL protections on marriage, including limits on children, close relatives, and three or more people marrying each other" as well as "[overriding] all laws on marriage [and a] 'fundamental right' to marry [meaning] it would remove protections againstchild marriages,incest, andpolygamy" and that "changing the definition of marriage, this measure also suggests that children don’t need both a mom and a dad [as Prop 3] goes against years of research showing that kids do best when raised by their mother and father in a stable, married home [and that] children without a mother or father are more likely to have emotional issues, take part in risky behaviors, struggle in school, and face financial problems."
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Support | Oppose | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Institute of California[22] | October 7–15, 2024 | 1,137 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 67% | 32% | 1% |
| Public Policy Institute of California[23] | August 29 – September 11, 2024 | 1,071 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 68% | 31% | 1% |
| USC/CSU Long Beach/ Cal Poly Pomona[24] | January 21–29, 2024 | 1,416 (LV) | ± 2.6% | 73% | 20% | 7% |
On November 5, 2024, at 8:00 PMPT, polls in California closed. With 62.6% in favor, Proposition 3 was approved.[25]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 9,477,435 | 62.62 |
| No | 5,658,187 | 37.38 |
| Total votes | 15,135,622 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 22,595,659 | 66.98 |
| Source:[26] | ||
 YES |  NO | Total votes[27] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | # | % | # | % | # |
| Alameda | 484,349 | 74.9% | 162,389 | 25.1% | 646,738 |
| Alpine | 521 | 72.0% | 203 | 28.0% | 724 |
| Amador | 9,728 | 45.4% | 11,687 | 54.6% | 21,415 |
| Butte | 51,240 | 56.3% | 39,753 | 43.7% | 90,993 |
| Calaveras | 11,429 | 44.9% | 14,014 | 55.1% | 25,443 |
| Colusa | 2,841 | 42.9% | 3,786 | 57.1% | 6,627 |
| Contra Costa | 354,545 | 69.8% | 153,595 | 30.2% | 508,140 |
| Del Norte | 4,819 | 47.0% | 5,432 | 53.0% | 10,251 |
| El Dorado | 56,464 | 52.7% | 50,746 | 47.3% | 107,210 |
| Fresno | 155,136 | 49.3% | 159,795 | 50.7% | 314,931 |
| Glenn | 4,149 | 41.6% | 5,835 | 58.4% | 9,984 |
| Humboldt | 44,423 | 71.3% | 17,921 | 28.7% | 62,344 |
| Imperial | 25,454 | 48.7% | 26,829 | 51.3% | 52,283 |
| Inyo | 4,658 | 54.2% | 3,940 | 45.8% | 8,598 |
| Kern | 119,523 | 43.4% | 155,599 | 56.6% | 275,122 |
| Kings | 18,283 | 45.0% | 22,335 | 55.0% | 40,618 |
| Lake | 14,540 | 57.0% | 10,949 | 43.0% | 25,489 |
| Lassen | 3,766 | 34.3% | 7,224 | 65.7% | 10,990 |
| Los Angeles | 2,277,244 | 65.7% | 1,188,271 | 34.3% | 3,465,515 |
| Madera | 22,497 | 42.7% | 30,145 | 57.3% | 52,642 |
| Marin | 119,254 | 86.0% | 19,470 | 14.0% | 138,724 |
| Mariposa | 4,153 | 45.6% | 4,963 | 54.4% | 9,116 |
| Mendocino | 25,895 | 68.6% | 11,856 | 31.4% | 37,751 |
| Merced | 40,741 | 49.8% | 40,996 | 50.2% | 81,737 |
| Modoc | 1,387 | 35.6% | 2,506 | 64.4% | 3,893 |
| Mono | 3,926 | 67.2% | 1,918 | 32.8% | 5,844 |
| Monterey | 93,834 | 66.2% | 48,009 | 33.8% | 141,843 |
| Napa | 43,574 | 69.7% | 18,975 | 30.3% | 62,549 |
| Nevada | 37,848 | 63.1% | 22,179 | 36.9% | 60,027 |
| Orange | 767,402 | 57.5% | 566,501 | 42.5% | 1,333,903 |
| Placer | 121,006 | 53.4% | 105,599 | 46.6% | 226,605 |
| Plumas | 4,870 | 49.5% | 4,968 | 50.5% | 9,838 |
| Riverside | 488,115 | 53.8% | 418,428 | 46.2% | 906,543 |
| Sacramento | 393,738 | 62.7% | 234,223 | 37.3% | 627,961 |
| San Benito | 15,863 | 59.1% | 10,987 | 40.9% | 26,850 |
| San Bernardino | 368,109 | 50.1% | 365,924 | 49.9% | 734,033 |
| San Diego | 929,477 | 65.6% | 488,011 | 34.4% | 1,417,488 |
| San Francisco | 327,877 | 84.7% | 59,058 | 15.3% | 386,935 |
| San Joaquin | 130,128 | 51.8% | 120,858 | 48.2% | 250,986 |
| San Luis Obispo | 87,056 | 59.7% | 58,764 | 40.3% | 145,820 |
| San Mateo | 236,724 | 75.3% | 77,562 | 24.7% | 314,286 |
| Santa Barbara | 117,376 | 66.1% | 60,284 | 33.9% | 177,660 |
| Santa Clara | 505,248 | 69.8% | 218,403 | 30.2% | 723,651 |
| Santa Cruz | 103,970 | 79.9% | 26,174 | 20.1% | 130,144 |
| Shasta | 34,720 | 40.9% | 50,161 | 59.1% | 84,881 |
| Sierra | 763 | 45.0% | 932 | 55.0% | 1,695 |
| Siskiyou | 9,955 | 48.1% | 10,762 | 51.9% | 20,717 |
| Solano | 111,727 | 61.2% | 70,800 | 38.8% | 182,527 |
| Sonoma | 184,233 | 76.0% | 58,225 | 24.0% | 242,458 |
| Stanislaus | 93,352 | 49.4% | 95,431 | 50.6% | 188,783 |
| Sutter | 16,028' | 42.8% | 21,457 | 57.2% | 37,485 |
| Tehama | 9,735 | 38.0% | 15,865 | 62.0% | 25,600 |
| Trinity | 2,873 | 52.6% | 2,594 | 47.4% | 5,467 |
| Tulare | 58,504 | 43.8% | 75,000 | 56.2% | 133,504 |
| Tuolumne | 12,935 | 46.3% | 15,010 | 53.7% | 27,945 |
| Ventura | 232,949 | 62.0% | 142,671 | 38.0% | 375,620 |
| Yolo | 63,657 | 70.4% | 26,736 | 29.6% | 90,393 |
| Yuba | 12,824 | 45.3% | 15,479 | 54.7% | 28,303 |
| Totals | 9,477,435 | 62.6% | 5,658,187 | 37.4% | 15,135,622 |
18 counties (Butte, El Dorado, Inyo, Lake, Los Angeles, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Solano, Trinity and Ventura) flipped from Yes on Proposition 8 in 2008 to Yes on Proposition 3 in 2024, while no counties flipped in the opposite direction.
While Alpine, Mono and Yolo were the only interior counties to vote against Proposition 8, 15 interior counties (Alpine, Butte, El Dorado, Inyo, Lake, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Trinity and Yolo) voted in favor of Proposition 3. While seven coastal counties (Del Norte, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Solano and Ventura) voted for Proposition 8, Del Norte was the only coastal county to vote against Proposition 3.
Despite the measure's safe passage, opposition to the measure was fairly strong among Hispanic Americans regardless of political partisanship. In lower-income majority-Hispanic counties and congressional districts, the share of "Yes" was considerably low compared to the partisanship of the district. For example, the Democratic strongholds ofCalifornia's 38th congressional district andCalifornia's 46th congressional district voted to the right of wealthy, majority-White districts such asCalifornia's 47th congressional district, even though those districts were much more Republican-leaning in comparison.
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