How many votes does a bond need to pass? There is no national number
General obligation (GO) bonds are backed by a government's taxing power, and most need voter approval before the government can take on the debt, according to LegalClarity, a secondary explainer with no stated author. That is a general pattern, not a national statute. The required share is set by state law and sometimes by local rules. Some places need a simple majority, and others require 60% or two-thirds. Check your own state's statute before relying on any figure here.
The thresholds in the sources
- California, local GO bonds: two-thirds voter approval, with proceeds limited to acquiring or improving real property. The source is a city-finance handout by Coleman, revised 19 February 2013, so it may be out of date.
- California, local school GO bonds: 55%, in place since 2001 according to EdSource's glossary. The Education Code has not been checked against this.
- Kansas City, Missouri: four-sevenths or two-thirds, depending on the election date. The city's FAQ includes a table by month and year.
- Missouri, state school bonds: a 57.15% threshold is reported, but only by a student paper citing Ballotpedia. Treat it as unverified.
California's state treasurer says local bond thresholds depend on the bond's type and purpose. The file's date is unclear, and no complete state-by-state table by bond type was found.
California: two-thirds, and the failed Proposition 5
Proposition 5 on the November 2024 ballot would have lowered the voter approval requirement for local bonds from two-thirds to 55%, for bonds funding affordable housing and public infrastructure, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office summary. It failed, and Ballotpedia confirms the defeat. The certified totals were 6,738,890 yes and 8,239,337 no, as listed in a Berkeley-hosted ballot guide. Those totals imply a yes share of about 45%. That figure is our calculation, not a reported result. As far as these sources show, the two-thirds rule for local bonds remains in place.
What 59% means under a two-thirds rule
Berkeley's 2022 infrastructure bond needed two-thirds support and failed with 59% in favour, according to Berkeleyside's December 2025 coverage. A clear majority backed it, and it still lost. A supermajority rule sets the bar by law, not by whether most voters agree.
Pre-election polling is not a result
Berkeley's 2026 measure, a $300M infrastructure bond according to Berkeleyside's October 2026 coverage, faces the same two-thirds bar. A city-commissioned poll taken in April found 69% of likely voters inclined to support it, with a 4.4% margin of error. That is one commissioned survey, not a forecast of passage. The sources do not confirm the election date, so no outcome should be read into these figures.
Pass rates: what the historical figures cover
A 2016 study using the NCSL Ballot Measure Database found that over 79% of state bond measures passed between 1990 and 2014, as cited in a peer-reviewed review in Public Budgeting & Finance. That covers state measures only, so it should not be applied to local infrastructure bonds. For California local GO bonds, a 2000 report puts the average passage rate for 1986 to 1999 at 54%.
A Brookings-hosted working paper on California school bonds reports that the 2001 change in threshold made passage more likely. Its authors describe the earlier 66.67% threshold as arbitrary and too strict. These are the authors' findings. Our research did not read the full text.
Estimates, disputed figures and gaps
The Legislative Analyst's Office estimated that a lower threshold would have let an additional 20% to 50% of local bond measures pass. That is a counterfactual estimate, and the LAO does not explain how it derived the range, according to a Pacific University analysis. Do not treat it as a measured result.
Several other rules are harder to pin down. A community blog says the Marco Island, Florida referendum on 18 August 2026 needs a simple majority; check the official ballot language. A Spotsylvania County, Virginia FAQ says state law requires voter approval before the county can issue GO bonds, but the Code of Virginia has not been checked. An Ephrata School District page says a February 2026 bond did not meet the 60% threshold required to pass; that is a local source. A 2020 Connecticut legislative research report says three states, naming Maine, New York and Rhode Island, require a later voter approval of bonds.
Check your own rule before relying on these numbers
- Find the statute or constitutional provision for your state and bond type. Every source here is secondary or local.
- Confirm whether the threshold is measured against votes cast or registered voters. The sources suggest votes cast for Kansas City, but this was not confirmed for other places.
- Check the official ballot language and results with your election office.
A failed bond generally has to return to voters at a later election before it can be approved. The sources do not describe other practical consequences, so ask your local finance office what applies to your case.