The Nov. 3, 2015, election actually starts well in advance of that date, with in many places a majority of voters casting their ballots early. We have compiled some information to help you this voting season.
To register
To be able to vote in this election, your registration card must be received by the Department of Elections by Oct. 19. Details at registertovote.ca.gov.
The earliest that mail-in ballots will be issued is Oct. 5. If you want to vote by mail, your request needs to be received by Oct. 27; you can either apply online to vote by mail only for this election, or you can fill out a paper form and send that in to request mail voting for all elections. Go to sfelections.org/tools/voterkit/index.html.
Where to vote
If you don’t already know where to vote, you can look up your nearest polling place in an online directory. The Department of Elections has a polling placer lookup service at sfelections.org/tools/pollsite/.
You can also vote early at City Hall beginning Oct. 5. The hours are Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. from Oct. 5–Nov. 3 (closed October 12, 2015); Saturday–Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. for Oct. 24–25 and Oct. 31–Nov. 1, 2015; and 7 a.m.–8 p.m. on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015.
When to vote
Early voting — whether by mail or at City Hall — begins on Oct. 5.
On election day, Nov. 3, polls are open 7 a.m.–8 p.m.
What’s on the ballot
Offices
Mayor (incumbent Ed Lee; challengers Kent Graham, Francisco Herrera, Reed Martin, Stuart Shuffman, and Amy Farah Weiss)
Sheriff (incumbent Ross Mirkarimi; challengers Vicki Hennessy and John C. Robinson)
District Attorney (incumbent George Gascon, unopposed)
Board of Supervisors, District 3
(incumbent Julie Christensen; challengers
Wilma Pang and Aaron Peskin)
City Attorney (incumbent Dennis Herrera, unopposed)
Treasurer (incumbent Jose Cisneros, unopposed)
Community College Board (incumbent Alex Randolph; challengers Wendy Aragon, Tom Temprano, and Jason Zeng)
Local Measures
Proposition A: Affordable Housing Bond
Proposition B: Paid Parental Leave for City Employees
Proposition C: Expenditure Lobbyists
Proposition D: Mission Rock
Proposition E: Requirements for Public Meetings
Proposition F: Short-Term Residential Rentals
Proposition G: Disclosures Regarding Renewable Energy
Proposition H: Defining Clean, Green, and Renewable Energy
Proposition I: Suspension of Market-Rate Development in the Mission District
Proposition J: Legacy Business Historic Preservation Fund
Proposition K: Surplus Public Lands
Politics in action
You can complete your participation in this democratic exercise by watching the results as they come in. The Department of Elections will post results at sfelections.org; and SFGT on Channel 26 will report results throughout the night of election day.
