Pasadena’s Measure PFD, the fire and paramedic parcel tax, is sitting just below the line it has to cross. In the Los Angeles County Registrar’s latest tally — results as of Wednesday, November 4, at 4:28 p.m. — the measure has 65.45% voting yes. Because PFD is a special tax, it needs two-thirds of the vote, 66.67%, to pass.
The count right now
- Yes: 26,635 votes (65.45%)
- No: 14,059 votes (34.55%)
- Total counted in this contest so far: 40,694 votes
- Needed to pass: two-thirds of votes cast
Put in raw votes, the gap is small. On the ballots counted so far, a two-thirds yes vote would be 27,130 votes — the Yes side is about 495 votes short of that mark. That is close enough that the ballots still being counted could move the result in either direction, and it is why neither side can call this finished yet.
What PFD would do
Measure PFD would levy 19 cents per square foot of improved property per year for 14 years, raising an estimated $22.1 million a year dedicated to fire protection, paramedic and 911 response, and wildfire preparedness. Qualifying low-income senior homeowners are exempt. Only Pasadena voters decided it — Altadena is unincorporated county territory and did not vote on the measure.
The City Council and Pasadena’s firefighters backed the measure, arguing the Fire Department’s stations, staffing, and equipment need a dedicated funding source. The No campaign, led by former Mayor Bill Paparian, argued the tax falls only on property owners, billed by building size, and that the city should fund fire-station replacement first from revenue voters already approved, including the Measure I sales tax.
What happens next
This tally is not final. The Registrar is still counting — including mail ballots that were postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days — and the county’s published schedule calls for updated results today, Thursday, November 5, at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., with further updates as counting continues. Certification is scheduled for November 27. The county results page does not publish a precincts-reporting figure for this contest, so there is no official count of exactly how many Pasadena ballots remain.
If the yes share holds below two-thirds once every ballot is counted, the measure fails, and the council will have to find another way to pay for the fire-station work and staffing PFD was written to fund. If late-counted ballots push it over 66.67%, the tax takes effect and the city gains a dedicated fire and emergency-services revenue stream for the next 14 years. Either way, the answer turns on a few hundred votes — watch this space as the next tallies post.
Sources: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, official election results for the November 3, 2026 General Election (City of Pasadena Measure PFD), results as of November 4, 2026, 4:28 p.m.; City of Pasadena Measure PFD information; Ballotpedia, Pasadena Measure PFD.
