ABCs of voting in San Francisco's March 5 primary
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By now, every voter in San Francisco should have received a ballot in the mail for the March 5 primary election.
Why it matters: Primaries determine the outcomes of local ballot measures, as well as who appears on the November ballot for major races like the U.S. Senate.
Expect to vote on:
- Two U.S. senators
- A U.S. representative (District 11 or District 15)
- A state senator (District 11)
- An assembly member (District 17 or District 19)
- Two Superior Court judges
- One state ballot measure that would authorize $6.38 billion in bonds to build residential mental illness treatment facilities.
- Seven local ballot measures, including a proposition that would expand police officers' ability to use surveillance tech.
State of play: Even though voting is already underway, it's still not too late to register.
- Although registration online or via paper application is now closed, residents can register — or update their registration — in person at the City Hall Voting Center or your neighborhood polling place through 8pm on Election Day.
- People experiencing homelessness can register by inputting the place they spend most of their time — like cross streets, a local park or a shelter — as their home address.
- Those with a criminal history can also register to vote if they meet eligibility requirements.
Between the lines: Registered party preference determines whether voters can participate in a given presidential primary.
- If you register with a preference for a political party, you'll automatically receive a ballot with that party's presidential primary candidates and County Central Committee candidates.
- If you don't list a preference, your default ballot won't list any of those candidates.
Yes, but: The Democratic Party allows voters registered without a party preference to vote in its primary, but only if they specifically request a crossover ballot by March 5.
- Only registered Republican voters can participate in the GOP primary.
- Meanwhile, candidates in state and municipal races run on a single ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to a November runoff.
What's next: Ballots can be returned via the U.S. Postal Service but must be postmarked and signed by Election Day. The Department of Elections operates a tracker to help you ensure it's verified and counted.
- The city's Voting Center — located on the ground floor of City Hall — is open 8am-5pm on weekdays, 10am-4pm this upcoming weekend or 7am-8pm on Election Day.
- You can also drop off your ballot at the 501 neighborhood polling places that will be operating 7am-8pm on Election Day.
The big picture: Nearly 501,000 people are registered to vote in San Francisco, according to the city's elections data.
- Over 320,000 voters are registered with the Democratic Party and more than 37,000 with the GOP.
- Almost 125,000 voters list no party preference.
- Our November 2022 election had a 62% turnout.