1908 California Amendment 14

1908 California Amendment 14

November 3, 1908
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 92,558 50.00% No 92,556 50.00%
Yes   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% No   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%

1908 California Amendment 14 was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of California to increase the salaries of governor from $6,000 to $10,000, lieutenant governor from $10 per legislative day to $4,000 per year, attorney general from $3,000 to $6,000, and other positions ^[a] from $3,000 to $5,000. ^{[1] [2]}

The ballot measure succeeded by just two votes, after an investigation uncovered that 110 votes had been incorrectly reported.

Background

Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 14 was the resolution that placed the measure on the ballot. It was adopted by the legislature on March 14, 1907. ^[1]

Results

The following table details the results by county: ^[3]

County	Yes		No
	#	%	#	%
Alameda	11,770	68.38	5,443	31.62
Alpine	10	58.82	7	41.18
Amador	309	39.41	475	60.59
Butte	1,149	43.31	1,504	56.69
Calaveras	368	44.02	468	55.98
Colusa	353	44.40	442	55.60
Contra Costa	1,484	65.63	777	34.37
Del Norte	87	40.85	126	59.15
El Dorado	268	26.85	730	73.15
Fresno	2,156	44.80	2,657	55.20
Glenn	202	30.15	468	69.85
Humboldt	756	28.38	1,908	71.62
Imperial	197	32.62	407	67.38
Inyo	227	46.04	266	53.96
Kern	796	50.54	779	49.46
Kings	377	36.57	654	63.43
Lake	235	37.90	385	62.10
Lassen	138	31.94	294	68.06
Los Angeles	15,495	40.03	23,212	59.97
Madera	250	45.54	299	54.46
Marin	1,461	71.48	583	28.52
Mariposa	132	44.59	164	55.41
Mendocino	604	34.63	1,140	65.37
Merced	434	50.70	422	49.30
Modoc	88	20.05	351	79.95
Mono	64	54.24	54	45.76
Monterey	960	53.27	842	46.73
Napa	877	52.11	806	47.89
Nevada	750	41.57	1,054	58.43
Orange	584	19.55	2,403	80.45
Placer	756	42.35	1,029	57.65
Plumas	235	55.04	192	44.96
Riverside	982	39.66	1,494	60.34
Sacramento	2,359	48.99	2,456	51.01
San Benito	289	37.88	474	62.12
San Bernardino	1,655	37.29	2,783	62.71
San Diego	1,673	33.43	3,331	66.57
San Francisco	25,140	69.47	11,049	30.53
San Joaquin	1,717	44.52	2,140	55.48
San Luis Obispo	600	35.99	1,067	64.01
San Mateo	1,378	72.22	530	27.78
Santa Barbara	997	47.86	1,086	52.14
Santa Clara	2,630	48.55	2,787	51.45
Santa Cruz	1,286	47.40	1,427	52.60
Shasta	639	39.49	979	60.51
Sierra	188	45.30	227	54.70
Siskiyou	771	55.91	608	44.09
Solano	939	45.01	1,147	54.99
Sonoma	1,988	45.70	2,362	54.30
Stanislaus	636	42.89	847	57.11
Sutter	225	30.70	508	69.30
Tehama	278	25.76	801	74.24
Trinity	106	40.61	155	59.39
Tulare	814	35.48	1,480	64.52
Tuolumne	352	42.05	485	57.95
Ventura	489	40.89	707	59.11
Yolo	395	32.01	839	67.99
Yuba	460	50.77	446	49.23
Total	92,558	50.0005	92,556	49.9995

Aftermath

The measure was initially defeated by 108 votes. However, W. H. Govan, a statistician who was working in the Secretary of State's office, felt unsatisfied with the returns that had been provided for Sacramento County. Govan had compared the results from the county election commissioners and those published in the City of Sacramento, and found, in at least two instances, errors in the reporting. He believed that the results from the sixteenth precinct of the Second district were incorrect, as he personally knew more than 24 men who had voted in favor of the measure, and the official returns showed 24 in favor and 107 against. After the District Attorney advised that the voting machine be opened, 124 votes were found in favor, and 107 were against. This matched the report published in Sacramento, and it gained the amendment 100 votes. ^[4]

Then, the voting machine that had been used for the thirteenth precinct of the Second district was opened. Official returns had showed that the amendment had been defeated within the precinct, with 27 in favor and 51 against. In contrast, the Sacramento report showed that it had been defeated, but by a narrower margin: 37 to 51. The voting machine's results matched the report, meaning the measure had gained another 10 votes. This left the amendment with a winning margin of two votes. ^[4]

References

1. "ELECTION PROCLAMATION". California Digital Newspaper Collection . 29 October 1908. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
2. "California SCA 14, Increase State Officers' Salaries Amendment (1908)". Ballotpedia . Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
3. "Statement of vote". Internet Archive . 1968. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
4. "AMENDMENT WINS BY 2-VOTE MARGIN". The Telegram . 17 December 1908. Archived from the original on 14 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.

Notes

1. Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, and Surveyor-General.