SF Politics 101 > San Francisco Elections

How does a Candidate Qualify for the Ballot?

In comparison to pieces of legislation, qualifying for the ballot as a candidate is fairly simple. First, each candidate for local elected office must be a resident and registered voter in San Francisco when they submit their nomination documents. Secondly, when running for Supervisor, the candidate must reside in that respective district for at least 30 days before filing their candidacy and must continue to reside therein during his or her incumbency. Finally, candidates must also fulfill a number of filing requirements, including payment of a filing fee (or submission of signatures in lieu of a filing fee), submission of a nomination paper, and undergoing public examination and challenge. For more information, please visit the Candidate Guides for the Mayor and Board of Supervisors and other local office candidates.

Important Dates for the November 2024 Election

Mayor and Board of Supervisors³

Special Elections

When an elected official vacates office during their term, voters pick who they want to fill the vacancy through a special election. After being elected, the winner of the special election will take on the unexpired term of the previous official before facing reelection in the next general election –- in some cases, this can cause candidates to run two campaigns only months apart.

Deciding when to hold the special election is not so cut and dry and can involve a high amount of politicking between the Mayor and the BOS. According to the law, the BOS must set the date of the special election no less than 105 nor more than 120 days from the date of calling such election; however, no special municipal election can take place within 105 days of any general municipal or statewide election. The BOS may also consolidate a special municipal election with a general municipal or statewide election.5

Vacancies

Almost all positions that become vacant will be appointed by the Mayor –the one exception, of course, being if the vacancy is the role of the Mayor.

The Mayor appoints an individual if the office of Assessor-Recorder, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff, Treasurer, or Member of the BOS, Board of Education or Governing Board of the Community College District becomes vacant because of death, resignation, recall, permanent disability, or the inability of the respective officer to otherwise carry out the responsibilities of the office.

If the Office of the Mayor becomes vacant because of death, resignation, recall, permanent disability, or the inability to carry out their responsibilities, the President of the BOS shall become Acting Mayor and shall serve until a successor is appointed by the BOS.

In all cases, the appointee serves until a successor is selected at the next election occurring at least 120 days after the vacancy.⁶

Ballot Measures

Types of Ballot Measures

How does a Ballot Measure Become Law?
In general, a simple majority, 50+1, is required to adopt a Charter Amendment, Ordinance, or Declaration of Policy. After the election, measures are put into effect rather quickly. Ordinance or Declaration of Policy goes into effect 10 days after the BOS confirms the election results and a Charter Amendment goes into effect when the Amendment is filed by the California Secretary of State.

A Simple Majority is Applied Except in the Case of Taxes…in Some Cases
In California, if a local tax measure raises revenue for the General fund, the proposed measure only needs to receive a simple majority. However, voters must pass special tax measures—which go to a specific purpose—by a two-thirds supermajority.

What Happens if Competing Measures Both Pass?
If two or more ballot measures on the same subject pass in the same election and their provisions conflict, the measure with the highest number of votes will take effect.

On the 94th day prior to each City election, the Clerk of the Board shall file all pending proposed Charter amendments that have not been submitted to the voters by the Board for that election, unless a Supervisor has requested, in writing, that a measure be considered for submission to the voters at a subsequent election.

Charter Amendments

Any proposal to make an amendment to the City Charter must be submitted to the electors by the Board.

What’s the First Step?
The proposed Charter Amendment must be introduced to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) at a regular Board meeting no less than 168 days prior to the election, where it will then be referred to the appropriate legislative committee for public hearing. Before the proposed Charter Amendment can be heard at committee, the City Attorney must sign it and provide a legislative digest before the 30-day rule commences.

What Happens After Reference to Committee?
After its reference to committee, the proposed Charter Amendment moves through various offices in City Hall, including the following:

• City Attorney: If the Amendment has not been approved, the Clerk of the Board transmits the Amendment to the City Attorney for preparation or approval as to form. Within 10 days after receipt from the Clerk of the Board, the City Attorney must prepare or approve as to form, or a negative report in lieu thereof.
• Controller: After the proposed Amendment is referred to the committee and approved as to form, the Clerk of the Board refers it to the Controller. The Controller has 10 days to submit to the Board a written statement pursuant to the Charter analyzing the proposal’s cost.
• Mayor and Other City Officials: After its reference to committee and approved as to form, the Clerk of the Board refers such proposed Amendment to the Mayor, appropriate department heads, and appropriate boards and commissions for comment as to the effect upon any matters within their respective jurisdictions.

How are Amendments made to Proposed Charter Amendments?
Amendments of substance—defined as any change that significantly alters the original intent, effect, or scope of legislative matters in the city charter—that are submitted to the Board or a Board committee, shall be prepared or approved as to form and returned to the Clerk of the Board by the City Attorney within seven days after receipt. Thereupon, the Clerk of the Board sends the updated Charter Amendment to the Controller, the Mayor, appropriate department heads and appropriate boards and commissions for comment. From there, at least 10 days must pass from when the Mayor and other City officials received the amendments before the committee can send the Board their report, and the Board can take action.⁷

When can the Proposed Charter Amendment be Submitted to Voters?
A minimum of 6 days must occur between the first appearance of a proposed Charter amendment on the Board agenda and any Board order of submission to the electorate. This order must be made not less than 95 days prior to the election.

What if the Deadline to Submit is Missed?
Under the San Francisco Elections Code, Section 300, proposed Charter amendments the Board wishes to submit to the voters may be submitted for the next election held no fewer than 102 days after the date of submission, and allows the Director of Elections to accept from the Board one proposed Charter amendment a week later, but no fewer than 95 days before the date of an election.

November 2024 Election — Important Deadlines for Charter Amendments⁸

Legislative Referral Process

By putting their support behind a certain measure, San Francisco politicians may submit to the voters declarations of policy and any matter which the Board of Supervisors or Mayor is empowered to pass. The legislative referral process allows politicians to push an ordinance or declaration of policy they care deeply about or will have a significant effect on the City, such as a tax, to the ballot, which otherwise could not be put into law through the normal legislative process. This method also allows proponents of the policy proposal to bypass the signature-gathering process necessary to qualify the measure that would be required if they took the citizen-initiative process route.

What does the Legislative Referral Process Look Like?
First, the proposed measure must gain the support of the Mayor or at least four members of the BOS before it can be submitted to the Department of Elections, no later than 45 days prior to the submission deadline.

Once the measure is proposed, the Clerk of the Board sends it to the Controller for a financial analysis, which must be completed no later than the first committee hearing concerning the proposed ordinance or Charter amendment.

At least 15 days before the submission deadline, the President of the BOS assigns the measure to a committee, which will then conduct a public hearing on the matter.

What if the Deadline to Hold a Public Hearing is not Met?
If the BOS fails to hold a hearing on the measure before the deadline for submittal, the initiative can still be placed on the ballot by the Director of Elections, with the caveat to add a notice to the voter information pamphlet that says the measure did not have its required public hearing.⁹

hen can the Proposed Ordinance or Declaration of Policy be Submitted to Voters?
The measure shall be submitted to the voters at the next election held no fewer than 95 days after the date said the measure is transmitted to the Director of Elections.¹⁰

November 2024 Election —Important Deadlines for Full Board Proposed Initiatives¹¹

November 2024 Election —Important Deadlines for Mayor or Four or More Supervisors Proposed Initiatives¹²

How Does a Measure Make it to the Ballot Through the Citizen Initiative Process?

Grassroots methods require proponents of an initiative measure to gain the support of their fellow San Francisco residents by collecting the required number of signatures. The number of signatures to qualify an initiative measure for the ballot varies, depending upon the type of measure, whether it is submitted to voters during a regular or special election, and the total number of voters in the previous election.

• Charter Amendment

• • • Number of Signatures: Equal to or exceeding 10% of the total number of voters in the Department’s most recent official report of registration to the Secretary of State. With respect to the November 2024 Consolidated General Election, the minimum number of valid signatures required for a citizen-led Charter Amendment measure to appear on the ballot is 50,146.

• Ordinance or Declaration of Policy

• • • Number of Signatures: For the November 2024 Consolidated General Election, petitions must include at least 10,029 valid signatures, which represents 2% of the overall number of registered voters in San Francisco.

• Special Election

• • Number of Signatures: Equal to or exceeding 10% of the votes cast for all candidates for Mayor at the most recent municipal election for Mayor, which equates to 17,958 valid signatures.

How much Time is Given to Collect Signatures?
When the City Attorney determines the measure’s ballot title and summary, the proponents have a maximum of 180 days to obtain all required signatures and file the petition with the Department of Elections. In order to qualify the measure for a specific election, the petition must be filed with the Department of Elections no later than 120 days prior to that election. If the measure gathers enough signatures after the 120 day deadline, the measure will be submitted to the voters at a future election.

What’s a Valid Signature?
Anyone who is registered to vote in the City and County of San Francisco can sign the petition. To ensure the validity of the collected signatures, the Department of Elections will test a random sample of 500. The random sample test attempts to show that the number of valid signatures is greater than 110 percent of the required number, which qualifies the measure, and if not, the Department of Elections will verify each signature on the petition.¹³

Does the Initiative Process Require any City Review?
No later than two working days after the initiative petition is certified, the Director of Elections, in consultation with the City Attorney, shall forward the initiative measure to the City departments which the Director of Elections believes are the most appropriate for determining the effect of the measure on current law and practices. Those departments shall transmit an analysis of the measure to the Ballot Simplification Committee no later than three days prior to the first date the Committee will meet to prepare a digest of the measure.¹⁴

November 2024 Election — Important Deadlines for the Grassroots Ballot Initiative Process¹⁵

Challenging the Results of the Election

To prevent a passed ballot measure from being implemented, voters must file a petition to the BOS. To unseat an elected official, voters must initiate a recall petition. At the local level, these methods have been proven difficult to carry out as they cost a significant amount of capital – funding, manpower, and political clout.

Legislative Referendum

Prior to when an ordinance goes into effect, a referendum on that ordinance may be proposed by filing with the BOS a petition protesting the passage of that ordinance. Such petitions shall be signed by voters in a number equal to at least 10 percent, or in the case of an ordinance granting any franchise (at least 5 percent) of the votes cast for all candidates for Mayor in the last preceding general municipal election for Mayor.

If these requirements are met: the ordinance will be suspended from becoming effective and be reconsidered by the Board.

If it is not entirely repealed: the Board shall submit the ordinance to the voters at the next general municipal or statewide election or at a special municipal election. The ordinance cannot become effective until approved by voters at such an election.

Recall

Voters may initiate a recall petition for an elected official of the City and County, the City Administrator, the Controller, or any member of the Airports Commission the Board of Education, the City College Board of Trustees, the Ethics Commission, or the Public Utilities Commission as long as it has been six months since the official took office.

Upon certifying the sufficiency of the recall petition’s signatures, the Director of Elections shall immediately call a special municipal election on the recall, to be held not less than 105 nor more than 120 days from the date of its calling unless it is within 105 days of a general municipal or statewide election, in which event the recall shall be submitted at such general municipal or statewide election.¹⁶

Campaign Finance 101

In an attempt to level the playing field for candidates from all backgrounds, over the years San Francisco has implemented some of the most stringent campaign finance laws in the country. Please find a few high-level rules about political giving below. For a deeper and more comprehensive dive into campaign finance law, we recommend checking out the SF Campaign and Government Conduct Code and the California Political Reform Act.

Campaign finance disclosures are available for public view on the Ethics Commission’s website.

Are there Limits to Campaign Contributions?
When making a contribution in San Francisco to a candidate or campaign treasurer for a candidate committee, an individual’s contribution cannot exceed $500.

Are Corporations Allowed to Make Contributions?
Corporations organized, whether for profit or not, can establish, administer, and solicit contributions to a candidate committee as long as it is through a separate segregated fund and complies with state and federal laws.

Can Donations be Earmarked for Specific Campaign Usage?
No person may make a contribution to a committee on the condition or with the agreement that it will be contributed to any particular candidate or committee to circumvent the limits established by subsections.17

Note: “committee”* as referenced here means any person or group who directly or indirectly:

• Receives contributions totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year
• Makes independent expenditures totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year
• Makes contributions totaling $10,000 or more in a calendar year to or at the behest of candidates or committees. 

*As defined in the California Political Reform Act, California Government Code section 81000

Coordinating of Independent Expenditures

How do you Ensure that an Expenditure is Independent?
Any expenditure will be treated as a contribution to a candidate if:

• It funds a communication advocating the nomination, election, or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, made at the request, suggestion, direction, or in coordination with the candidate
• The candidate has participated in decisions regarding the communication’s content, timing, location, mode, audience, distribution volume, or placement frequency
• There has been discussion and agreement between the creator or funder of the communication and the candidate or committee on these aspects¹⁸

Resources for San Francisco Voters

To be eligible to vote in San Francisco, you must be at least 18 years old, not currently incarcerated for a felony offense, not declared mentally incompetent to vote by a court, and be a U.S. citizen*. The deadline to register for the November 5, 2024 General Election is October 21, 2024. You can return your ballot by mail, at a drop-off location, or at the San Francisco City Hall Voting Center. On Election Days, polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM. 

• Register to Vote
• Check Voter Registration Status
• Ways to Vote
• Track your Ballot
• Find Your Polling Location
• Check Your Voting Districts 
• Sample Ballot (Nov. 2022)
• Know Your Voting Rights

*Current local law permits certain non-citizens to participate in voting in San Francisco’s Board of Education (School Board) elections.

Should you desire further information about these laws, and details surrounding this subject matter, you can find the entire set of guiding rules and principles in the City Charter and Administrative Code, Board of Supervisors Rules of Order, the Board’s Legislative Process Handbook, and the Department of Elections Guide to Qualifying San Francisco Initiative Measures.

Endnotes

¹ “Department of Elections.” Future Elections.
² “Department of Elections.” Ranked-Choice Voting.
³ “San Francisco Elections.” Candidate Guide Mayor and Board of Supervisors
⁴ “San Francisco Elections.” Candidate Guide City Attorney, District Attorney, Sheriff, Treasurer, Board of Education, Community College Board, BART Board (Districts 7 and 9)
⁵ “San Francisco Charter.” Article XIII, Section 13.103
⁶ “San Francisco Charter.” Article XIII, Section 13.101.5
⁷ “City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors.” Rules of Order. Section 2, 19 Apr. 2019
⁸ “San Francisco Board of Supervisors.” Election Calendar November 5, 2024.
⁹ “San Francisco Charter.” Article II, Section 2.113
¹⁰ “San Francisco Municipal Elections Code.” Article III, Section 300
¹¹ “San Francisco Board of Supervisors.” Election Calendar November 5, 2024.
¹² “San Francisco Board of Supervisors.” Election Calendar November 5, 2024.
¹³ “San Francisco Elections.” Guide to Qualifying San Francisco Initiative Measures.
¹⁴ “San Francisco Municipal Elections Code.” Article VI, Section 600
¹⁵ “Important Dates.” Guide to Qualifying San Francisco Initiative Measures.
¹⁶ “San Francisco Charter.” Article XIV
¹⁷ “San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code.” Article I, Section 1.114
¹⁸ “San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code.” Article I, Section 1.115

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