Childcare \ Early Learning Millage - Ballot Proposal
Kalamazoo County, Michigan
My vote power
High
Election date
August 4, 2026
How do we calculate my vote power?
What goes into the rating: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. Decisiveness: how likely this race is to be close, based on past results or current analyst ratings, plus the number of candidates.
Representation: High · 66 out of 100
This district is a small slice of its state, so each vote here carries much more weight than a vote in a statewide race. About 262,375 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(10,077,761 ÷ 262,375) ÷ ln(50,000) = 66.86, measured against a statewide vote in MI (grades: 66+ high, 33+ normal, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
High representation → My vote power: High.
Ballot Measure
Supports: Cost of Living Reduction, Public Education Quality, Social Programs and Welfare
This measure would create an eight-year county property tax to fund childcare and early-learning services. Kalamazoo County could levy up to 0.5 mill—$0.50 per $1,000 of taxable value—from 2027 through 2034 on taxable property countywide. The ballot gives a $50 annual example for a home with a $200,000 market value and $100,000 taxable value, and estimates $6,393,624 in first-year revenue. Money would fund services and programs for county residents, focusing on children ages 0–5 and caregivers, including childcare, with the County Department of Health and Community Services administering related grants and programs.
Read the official ballot measure
A YES vote means
A YES vote authorizes Kalamazoo County to levy up to 0.5 mill on taxable property from 2027 through 2034. At the full rate, a property with $100,000 in taxable value would pay about $50 per year, and the county estimates collecting $6,393,624 in the first year for childcare, early-learning, and related grant programs focused on young children and caregivers.
A NO vote means
A NO vote does not authorize the new 0.5-mill county property tax. Property owners would not pay this levy, and Kalamazoo County would not receive the proposal’s dedicated revenue for the specified childcare, early-learning, and related grant programs.
Sources: kalcounty.gov2