Today, the San Francisco Department of Elections will begin processing ballots — those you mail in, and those you fill out at City Hall.
Here’s your guide!
Register to vote
You have until Oct. 21 to register to vote by mail. You can do that online here. Or, visit the Department of Elections in the basement of City Hall, and receive a mail-in ballot.
After Oct. 21, residents can still register to vote through Election Day on Nov. 5, but only in person at the City Hall Voting Center. It is open on weekdays and some weekends until the election. You can also register to vote, and vote at a polling place, on Nov. 5. You can find your assigned Election Day polling place here.
While non-U.S. citizens are not eligible to vote in the federal, state and most local races, they can vote in the San Francisco Board of Education election. These voters must have a child. You can register by filling out and submitting a form available here, or at City Hall.
Bilingual ballots are offered in English and Chinese, Spanish and Filipino. Voters can submit their choice of language online through the Department of Elections.
Vote or return your ballot on time
Here are the important dates:
Oct. 7
37 official ballot drop boxes open across
San Francisco, available 24/7 through
8 p.m. on election day (see map below).
Oct. 7 – Nov. 5
The City Hall Voting Center is open every
weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(and until 8 p.m. on Nov. 5) except Oct.
14, Indigenous People’s Day.
Oct. 21
Anyone who registers or updates their
address by this date will automatically
receive a ballot packet by mail.
After this date, eligible residents can still
register and vote at the City Hall Voting
Center or a polling place.
The City Hall Voting Center is open for
weekend voting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Oct. 26 – 27
Nov. 2 – 3
Nov. 5
Election Day
The City Hall Voting Center and 501
neighborhood polling places are open
from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Ballots returned in person must be
hand-delivered by 8 p.m. to any official
ballot drop box or voting site.
Ballots returned by mail must be
postmarked before 8 p.m. on election
day.
Oct. 7
37 official ballot drop boxes open
across San Francisco, available
24/7 through 8 p.m. on election
day (see map below).
Oct. 7 – Nov. 5
The City Hall Voting Center is
open every weekday from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. (and until 8 p.m. on Nov.
5) except Oct. 14, Indigenous
People’s Day.
Anyone who registers or updates
their address by this date will
automatically receive a ballot
packet by mail.
After this date, eligible residents
can still register and vote at the
City Hall Voting Center or a polling
place.
Oct. 21
Oct. 26 – 27
The City Hall Voting Center is
open for weekend voting from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nov. 2 – 3
Nov. 5
Election Day
The City Hall Voting Center and
501 neighborhood polling places
are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Ballots returned in person must
be hand-delivered by 8 p.m. to
any official ballot drop box or
voting site.
Ballots returned by mail must be
postmarked before 8 p.m. on
election day.
Source: San Francisco Department of Elections. Chart by Kelly Waldron.
Drop off boxes for your ballot — all must be delivered by 8 p.m. Nov. 5.
Here is a link to the polling places open on Election Day, where you can also drop off a ballot or vote.
Inform yourself
For the first time ever in San Francisco, voters will be electing a mayor on the same day they elect a president. On top of that, voters will decide on many important ballot measures and races.
Here’s what’s on the ballot:
Candidate races
- President of the United States
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House of Representatives
- State Assembly
- State Senate
- Mayor
- Supervisors (for Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11)
- Board of Education
- BART Board
- Community College Board
- City attorney
- District attorney
- Treasurer
- Sheriff
Ballot measures
- 10 state ballot measures
- 15 local ballot measures (You can find one-minute videos on each ballot measure here)
View the California voter information guide here, and the San Francisco voter information guide here.
To view Mission Local’s coverage on the election, check out our dashboard. On the mayor’s race, follow our latest coverage here. On campaign finance, follow our latest coverage here.
If you have a supervisorial race in your district, you can click on this map and meet the candidates, or check out a weekly question series here.
