Final CA 2022 Election Results: These Counties Hated Prop 26, Prop 27 Most

California certified its 2022 election results last Friday.

So, we’ve known for a long time that the two California sports betting measures, Prop 26 and Prop 27, lost in landslides. Now, we can detail exactly how miserably they lost, and break it down by county.

Ready?

Let’s dive into the epic election failures of Prop 26 and Prop 27.

Prop 26

Final vote: 67% NO, 33% YES

Total votes: 10,643,715

All 58 counties voted no on Prop 26. And, while things were closer than they were with Prop 27, the votes were still mostly lopsided in all 58.

Amador County and Mariposa County tied for the highest percentage of no on Prop 26 votes at 78%.

Interestingly, there are no card rooms in Mariposa County. There is no significant indication why the state’s sixth-smallest county would be proportionally the most opposed to in-person sports betting in California.

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Amador County, the 13th-smallest county in California, sits about 55 miles east of Sacramento, with several Indian casinos in the area. That, again, makes it curious why the county was so opposed to sports betting at those Indian casinos. There are no card rooms in the county, either.

Alpine County was the only in California where fewer than 60% voted no on Prop 26. It was 59% in this county of 1,235, the smallest in the state. It sits on the Nevada border, just south of Lake Tahoe. There is one tribe based in Alpine County, the Washoe Tribe of California and Nevada.

According to the latest US Census data, 23.7% of the population in Alpine County identifies as either American Indian or Alaska Native. That percentage is among the highest in the state. So, if more tribal community members voted yes on Prop 26 on average, Alpine County’s 2022 election results make sense in this area.

Counties With the Most Indian Casinos

The two counties with the most Indian casinos, San Diego County and Riverside County, also ranked among the lowest clip of no votes. San Diego County was second-lowest in the state at 62%. Riverside County was right behind at 65%. San Diego County also has Del Mar Racetrack. Del Mar is one of the four racetracks that would have had sports betting under Prop 26.

Los Angeles County, which has Santa Anita Park, had 64% vote no. Orange County, which has Los Alamitos Race Course, had 69% vote no. Alameda County, which has Golden Gate Fields, had 66% vote no.

Counties With the Most Card Rooms

Card room operators were roundly opposed to Prop 26. They worried the measure would further establish Indian casinos as the state’s dominant retail gambling option and potentially put card rooms out of business. Sacramento County is tied with LA County for the most card rooms. It had 68% vote no.

With Casino M8trix and Bay 101 Casino, San Jose is also a hot bed for card room supporters. Its county, Santa Clara County, had 68% vote no on Prop 26.

Prop 27

Final vote: 82.3% NO, 17.3% YES

Total votes: 10,755,539

All 58 counties voted no on Prop 27. And the voting wasn’t close in any of those 58 counties. Like, nowhere near close.

Three counties tied for the highest percentage of no votes at 89%: Nevada County, Mariposa County, and Sierra County.

Nevada County borders Reno, Nevada, and sits about 60 miles northwest of Sacramento. While there are no tribes or tribal casinos based in the county, there are several tribes and tribal casinos in the area. That list includes Sky River Casino (Wilton Rancheria), Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Fire Mountain (Estom Yumeka Maidu of the Enterprise Rancheria), Thunder Valley Resort & Casino (United Auburn Indian Community), and Red Hawk Casino (Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians).

Mariposa County is in Northern California, east of Modesto and north of Fresno. Like Nevada County, there are no tribes or Indian casinos based there, but Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino (Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians) sits just 30 miles south of Mariposa County.

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Sierra County, the second-smallest county in California, is directly north of Nevada County.

Just one county had fewer than 80% of residents vote no. That was San Benito County, where 79% voted no on Prop 27. The county is located near the coast, east of Monterey and 84 miles south of San Jose.

The two counties with the most Indian casinos, San Diego County and Riverside County, voted 82% no and 83% no, respectively.

About the Author

Matthew Bain

Matthew Bain started as News Editor and Content Manager at California Casinos in 2022. Before that, he spent six years as a sports reporter and then deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register, during which time he won nine statewide journalism awards, including the Genevieve Mauck Stoufer Outstanding Young Iowa Journalists Award. As deputy sports editor, Matthew oversaw the Register's recruiting coverage while also innovating the outlet's high school sports coverage. Matthew graduated from San Diego State and grew up in California, but he's somehow a Boston Celtics fan. Long story.