Darker areas represent higher turnout. Click here for a larger map.
Like the rest of the city, Missionites turned out in below-average numbers to vote for mayor.
District residents who did vote overwhelmingly supported District 11 Supervisor John Avalos.
Election officials said this year’s race had the lowest turnout of the last 10 mayoral contests. Only 39 percent of all registered voters — 182,317 residents — cast a ballot. The Mission ranked sixth lowest in turnout (30.4 percent), beating only the Western Addition, Visitacion Valley, Civic Center, SoMa and Bayview.
The turnout for this year’s election ranked as the second worst for the Mission since 2004, and the worst of the past three mayoral contests. The lowest turnout for an election here was in 2009, when only 19 percent of Missionites voted.
Turnout in the Mission typically varies wildly from precinct to precinct, and that was true again this year. The Valencia corridor, the northwest Mission and the precinct around 23rd Street and South Van Ness Avenue had the highest turnout rates. The precinct with the highest turnout, at 32 percent, borders Market and Guerrero streets along 13th, right by the Avalos campaign headquarters. The lowest turnout was a large precinct between 16th and 20th streets along Potrero, with an 11 percent turnout. This district has had high turnouts in the past.
Even though the Mission had a below-average turnout compared to the rest of the city, it made its presence known. The Mission’s 9,726 votes made up 6 percent of the city’s total; the Excelsior and the Western Addition also made up about 6 percent each. The district with the most votes — 9 percent of the total — was the Sunset, with 14,956 votes.
The Sunset and Richmond voted heavily, along with the Marina, Twin Peaks and Pacific Heights. Lee made a strong showing in all of those neighborhoods.
In contrast, Avalos took much of his support from the Excelsior (though Lee bested him there), Noe Valley and Eureka Valley. But it was the Mission where he earned the greatest support of all districts, with 4,439 votes, three times more than Lee.
Looking at the amount of money Avalos raised from the Mission, it’s no surprise that much of his support derived from the district. According to the latest round of campaign finance disclosures, Avalos raised $39,000 from the Mission, 26 percent of all the funding he raised in San Francisco.
San Francisco Elections lumps several neighborhoods into electoral neighborhoods. Duplicates on the map represent that. SoMa includes the Financial District and Treasure Island, Chinatown includes Nob Hill, the Marina includes Russian Hill and Pacific Heights, the Sunset includes Parkside, the Excelsior includes Outer Mission, Diamond Heights includes Glen Park, and West of Twin Peaks includes Twin Peaks.
Really disheartening. Avalos would have won if half the people with signs for him showed up at the polls.
Too busy to vote on election day? You can register for permanent absentee and have a ballot mailed to you.
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vote-by-mail/pdf/fill-in-vote-by-mail-app-instruct.pdf