LWVSF voter guide

Ballots start being mailed to registered voters in early October. Check your voter registration.

To get a ballot in the mail for this election, you must register to vote by October 21. If you register after October 21, you will have to vote in person.

Track your ballot with the San Francisco Voter Portal or California BallotTrax.

Remember, you must be registered to vote in San Francisco to receive a mailed ballot for voting in San Francisco.

If it's been more than three days since your ballot was mailed, or if you lost, damaged, or made a mistake marking your ballot, you can request a replacement ballot using the San Francisco Voter Portal or by calling the Department of Elections at 415‑554‑4375.  

Voting early is your best option — and it's easy!

By voting early, you can return your ballot when it's most convenient. Once you've filled out your ballot as best you can, you must sign, date, and seal the envelope. And then:

• Use an official ballot drop box. Located throughout the city, drop boxes are available every day, 24 hours a day starting October 7.
• Put it into any blue USPS mailbox. Make sure your ballot gets counted with our tips for mailing your ballot.
• Visit the City Hall Voting Center to drop off your ballot or get in-person help from the Department of Elections.

No matter which method you choose, the deadline to return your ballot is 8pm on Election Day on November 5.

The deadline to return your ballot is 8pm on Election Day on November 5. 

On Election Day, there are several ways to return your ballot, all available from 7am to 8pm:

• Use an official ballot drop box
• Visit the City Hall Voting Center
• Bring it to any polling place in the city
• Have someone else drop it off by filling out the authorization section of your ballot return envelope

If you need to, you can put your ballot in a USPS mailbox, but the envelope must be postmarked no later than Election Day, November 5. Get our tips for mailing your ballot.

There are several ways you can get assistance with casting your ballot safely and securely. Contact the San Francisco Department of Elections and they'll help you with:

• replacement ballot
• ballot pick up and delivery
• accessible vote-by-mail system
• curbside service
• military voting
• voting from another country
• and more.

If you are a San Francisco voter and U.S. citizen —

Federal contests:

• President and Vice President
• United States Senator
• United States Representative in Congress, Districts 11 and 15

State and regional contests:

• State Senator, District 11
• State Assemblymember, Districts 17 and 19
• BART Board, Districts 7 and 9

Local contests:

• Mayor
• Board of Supervisors, Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11
• City Attorney
• District Attorney
• Sheriff
• Treasurer
• Board of Education, 4 seats
• Community College Board, 4 seats

California propositions (titles subject to change):

• 2 — Authorizes Bonds for Public School and Community College Facilities
• 3 — Constitutional Right to Marriage
• 4 — Authorizes Bonds for Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, and Protecting Communities and Natural Lands from Climate Risk
• 5 — Allows Local Bonds for Affordable Housing and Public Infrastructure with 55% Voter Approval
• 6 — Eliminates Constitutional Provision Allowing Involuntary Servitude for Incarcerated Persons
• 32 — Raises Minimum Wage
• 33 — Expands Local Governments' Authority to Enact Rent Control on Residential Property
• 34 — Restricts Spending of Prescription Drug Revenues by Certain Health Care Providers
• 35 — Provides Permanent Funding for Medi-Cal Health Care Services
• 36 — Allows Felony Charges and Increases Sentences for Certain Drug and Theft Crimes

San Francisco ballot measures, also called propositions (titles subject to change):

• A — Schools Improvement and Safety Bond
• B — Community Health and Medical Facilities, Street Safety, Public Spaces, and Shelter to Reduce Homelessness Bond
• C — Inspector General 
• D — City Commissions and Mayoral Authority
• E — Creating a Task Force to Recommend Changing, Eliminating, or Combining City Commissions
• F — Police Staffing and Deferred Retirement
• G — Funding Rental Subsidies for Affordable Housing Developments Serving Low Income Seniors, Families, and Persons with Disabilities
• H — Retirement Benefits for Firefighters
• I — Retirement Benefits for Nurses and 911 Operators
• J — Funding Programs Serving Children, Youth, and Families
• K — Permanently Closing the Upper Great Highway to Private Vehicles to Establish a Public Open Recreation Space
• L — Additional Business Tax on Transportation Network Companies and Autonomous Vehicle Businesses to Fund Public Transportation
• M — Changes to Business Taxes
• N — First Responder Student Loan and Training Reimbursement Fund
• O — Supporting Reproductive Rights

If you are a non-citizen voter —

You will be asked to vote for Board of Education only.

Find out which San Francisco election districts you live in using the Department of Elections voting districts lookup tool.

Eligible non-citizens who are a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver of a child under the age of 19 living in San Francisco have the right to participate in Board of Education (school board) elections — but not other items on the ballot. Learn about non-citizen voting in San Francisco. 

Get reliable, unbiased information you can trust from the League of Women Voters. We don't endorse candidates. Instead, we provide information so you can make your own decision and vote!

• Local candidates: LWVSF's nonpartisan candidate forums and statements
• State and federal candidates: VOTE411.org

Check out the official election information in the SF Department of Elections Voter Information Pamphlet and the California Secretary of State Voter Information Guide.

The League of Women Voters does not support or oppose candidates or political parties, so we do not issue candidate endorsements.

Get information you can trust from the League of Women Voters!

• Local ballot measures: LWVSF's Pros & Cons Guide and ballot recommendations (also known as endorsements)
• State propositions: VOTE411.org and ballot recommendations

Check out the official election information in the SF Department of Elections Voter Information Pamphlet and the California Secretary of State Voter Information Guide.

Vote with the League with our ballot recommendations, also known as election endorsements. We endorse San Francisco propositions, also called ballot measures, and the California propositions. We don't endorse candidates.

No, you don't need to vote for everything on your ballot. Just fill out your ballot as best you can. 

If you want to skip parts of your ballot, that's okay. However, we recommend that you do your best to fill out your entire ballot. If you don't feel like you know enough to vote on something, use our information about ballot measures and candidates to help you learn about what's on your ballot.

Even if you leave something blank on your ballot, your other votes will still be counted — so long as you got your ballot in by the deadline and, if you dropped it off or mailed it, signed and dated the envelope.

Protest votes. Sometimes people want to leave something blank as a protest vote. They might be trying express dissatisfaction with the candidate choices or political system. 

However, since California voters aren't required to vote for everything on their ballot, a blank protest vote is not reported differently than any other blank vote. Blanks as well as bubbles that are incorrectly filled in are all reported as what's called "undervotes."

If you feel you must cast a protest vote, don't damage your ballot or write messages on it. That can get your entire ballot classified as spoiled, and it won't be counted at all.