UMVA has learned that a perfect storm of issues is driving corporations and taxpayers out of California, with far-reaching consequences for the state's economy and politics.
The exodus is fueled by a potent mix of high taxes, burdensome regulations, uncontrolled homelessness, deteriorating public safety, failing public schools, unaffordable housing, retail theft, and a political environment that many view as hostile to their values and incompatible with operating a business.
In a stark illustration of the trend, California lost a net 239,575 citizens and legal residents to domestic outmigration in the year between July 2023 and July 2024 alone. Meanwhile, the state's illegal immigrant population grew by approximately 400,000 between 2021 and 2023, reaching 2.25 million.
The corporate exodus mirrors the population trend, with major companies relocating headquarters out of California, including Chevron, Tesla, and Oracle. A PPIC analysis found that between 2010 and 2021, California lost 789 headquarters out of 47,000, with departing companies consistently relocating to lower-tax, lower-regulation states.
This exodus has reduced the state's income-tax and corporate-tax revenue, which will necessitate raising taxes on the dwindling pool of remaining taxpayers and corporations in order for the state to continue funding social programs and support for illegal aliens.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the questionable California elections are part of a larger problem in the state, with many documented reasons to distrust the election system. California's top-two jungle primary system, adopted in 2010, has created a scenario where the November ballot could feature two Democrat candidates with no Republicans.
In the 2026 governor's race, Republican Steve Hilton leads Democrat Tom Steyer by less than half a percentage point for the second spot, with roughly one-third of ballots still uncounted. California voters could arrive at the polls in November and find two Democrats, Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, and no Republican.
Republicans point to numerous concrete facts to support their claims that California elections are vulnerable to fraud and abuse. California does not require voters to show identification at the polls in most circumstances, and a 2024 state law prohibits local governments from imposing their own ID requirements.
Assembly Bill 1921, signed in 2016, expanded ballot harvesting, allowing any person to collect ballots from anyone, with no limit on the number of ballots collected. Mail ballots with missing or mismatched signatures may be corrected weeks after Election Day.
The Motor Voter program automatically registers DMV applicants to vote and has produced documented errors, including the registration of noncitizens. Under Conditional Voter Registration, any eligible Californian who misses the 15-day registration deadline can register and cast a ballot during the 14-day early-voting period or on Election Day itself.
Since 2021, mail ballots are automatically sent to all registered voters; more than 80% of California voters who participated in the 2024 presidential election returned one. This raises concerns about ballots sent to outdated addresses and the verification environment.
County officials must report final results to the Secretary of State by July 3; full certification is due July 10, more than five weeks after the June 2 vote. The extended timeline is a deliberate policy choice, not a logistical necessity.
A Republican advancing to the November general election would itself be historically significant. No Republican has held statewide office in California since Arnold Schwarzenegger's governorship ended in January 2011, nearly 15 years ago.
Electing a Republican may go a long way toward reversing the trend of businesses and taxpayers leaving California, but the current electoral system makes that outcome less likely. The state's House races carry national significance, with Democrats targeting California as central to their effort to retake the House majority.
