Our SF voting primer for the February–March 2024 election

New to voting? Haven’t done it in awhile? Know someone who’s daunted by the whole process and could use a gentle explainer? Here’s our tutorial on how you—yes, you—can make your choices count in this year’s primary election.

---

What’s on the ballot?

Several things, but here are some highlights:

• We’ll elect one of our two senators this year. The ballot has not one, but two races for the same US Senate seat. One is for the remainder of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein’s term; the other is for the next term, starting next year. The incumbent is Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was appointed by Governor Newsom to fill the vacancy; she has declined to run for election, so she will exit the office after a new senator has been elected.

• New districts (since 2020). If you skipped the midterm elections two years ago, you should know that we got new districts that year, so you might not be in the same district you were in in 2020. Congressional (House) districts have changed numbers; what were districts 12 and 14 back in 2020 are now districts 11 and 15. State Assembly districts have not changed numbers; SF is still in Assembly districts 17 and 19. Also, House and Assembly districts have changed shape, so you may be in a different district even if you haven’t moved. You can find your district at https://sf.gov/maps; also, the ballot you got in the mail (more on that below) will have the appropriate races for your residence.

• The presidential primary—but only if you are registered with a party preference (e.g., as a Democrat), or if you request a “crossover” ballot if you choose to remain no-party-preference.

Your statewide voter information guide and SF voter information pamphlet will have more information on everything that’s on your ballot, and we provide links to recommendations on our Vote page.

You don’t have to vote everything on your ballot. We encourage you to try to make informed choices on everything you can, but if you can’t decide on something, just skip it.

How do I vote in the February–March 2024 primary election?

The short version

1. If you’re already registered to vote, you should already have received a ballot in your mail. If you haven’t yet, check on that. If you need to register to vote (including to update your registration), you have to do that by Tuesday, February 20 in order to get a ballot mailed to you—otherwise, you’ll have to vote in person.

2. Your ballot packet includes your ballot, a return envelope, and an instruction sheet with your “I Voted!” sticker. Mark your selection(s) on your ballot with a black ballpoint pen, then fold it back up, tear off the stub, and put it in the return envelope.

3. SIGN THE RETURN ENVELOPE. Also write your name and address on the appropriate blanks in the lower-left corner. If someone else will return your ballot for you, have them fill out the blanks in the upper-right corner.

4. Return your ballot as early as possible! You can do this by mail, by using any official drop box, by going to City Hall, or (on the very last day) at any polling place in the City.

5. Track your ballot using the voter portal or the state’s “Where’s My Ballot?” system!

First: Your ballot

If you’re already registered to vote in San Francisco, your ballot should have arrived in your mail in an envelope like this:

(If that envelope hasn’t arrived yet, check your voter registration! You have until Tuesday, February 20 to register to vote and get a ballot mailed to you. Otherwise, you’ll have to vote in person.)

That envelope contains three things:

• Your ballot

• Another, slightly smaller envelope, called the return envelope (note that the outer envelope is blue, where the return envelope—shown below—is purple)

• An instruction sheet with your “I Voted!” sticker on it

You don’t need to wait until the last day. You can start now. You’ve got two cards to fill out, and if you put it off, you risk forgetting, misplacing your ballot, or otherwise missing the Tuesday, March 5 deadline.

Filling out your ballot

You’ll need a ballpoint pen with black ink. (The ballot’s instructions say “a pencil or pen with dark ink,” but we don’t recommend using a pencil.)

There are questions on both sides of each ballot card, so make sure you vote on everything you want to.

Once you have completed your ballot, tear off the voter stub from the top of the ballot. Fold it back and forth along the perforation to ensure it comes off cleanly. The stub is, essentially, your receipt; you can throw it out once the Voter Portal (or the state’s “Where’s My Ballot?” service) confirms that your ballot has been counted.

Then, fold up each of your ballot cards, gather them into a stack, and put the stack in the return envelope. (Remember, the return envelope is the purple one, not the blue one. It says “Ballot Return Envelope” on the front.)

Your ballot should look like this after you’ve removed your stub and folded it back up. Notice that the cards are now stacked rather than nested. Your ballot will still count whichever way you fold it, but this way makes it easier for the elections staff.

The return envelope

After you’ve completed your ballot, but before you place the ballot in the return envelope, fill out the form in the lower-left corner of the back side:

1. Sign the return envelope inside the red rectangle. We’ll say it again: Sign the return envelope! Not doing this is one of the most common mistakes voters make, and will delay your ballot being counted.

2. Fill out the designated fields with your name, the date, and your address (the one where you’re registered to vote).

3. Write a phone number, email address, or both where you can be contacted if the Department of Elections needs to contact you about your ballot. This last step is optional, but it’s the best way you have a chance to fix a mistake (for example,  if you forgot to sign the return envelope) and ensure your vote counts.

If you’ve asked someone to return your ballot for you, and they’ve accepted that responsibility, that person should fill out the form on the upper-right of the envelope, giving their name, relationship to you, and signature.

Now you can put your ballot cards into the return envelope.

⚠️ WAIT! BEFORE YOU SEAL THE RETURN ENVELOPE:

1. Did you mark your choices on your ballot? (Remember that there are races on both sides, and there are multiple cards!)

2. Did you put the ballot—both cards—in the return envelope?

3. Did you sign and date the return envelope, and write your name and address (where you are registered to vote) on it?

4. Do you have a plan for when and how you will cast this ballot?

5. If you’re authorizing someone else to return your ballot for you, is the authorization form in the upper-right corner filled out?

If all of these checks pass, go ahead and seal up the return envelope. It’s now ready to be returned!

One thing you don’t need to do: You don’t need to add a stamp. Ballot return envelopes in California are postage paid—you can mail your return envelope from anywhere in the United States for free.

Returning your ballot (in its return envelope)

You have several options for how you (or the person you authorized) can return your ballot to the Department of Elections:

• Mail it from any USPS Post Office or collection box, preferably by Tuesday, February 27, and no later than Monday, March 4 (but really the sooner the better).

• Drop it off at any official ballot drop box. There are 37 of these all over the City, including one at Polk and Grove near City Hall.

• Drop it off at the City Hall voting center.

• Drop it off at any polling place.

You can probably guess that we’re suggesting you mail your ballot by February 27 to account for mail delays (thanks, Postmaster General DeJoy), but why are we advising you to mail ballots no later than Monday, March 4, rather than Tuesday, March 5?

The answer is postmarks.

The deadline for mailed ballots under state law is that they must be postmarked by “Election Day” (which this time is March 5), and they must arrive no later than seven days after “Election Day.”

But postmarks can be tricky. An item is postmarked on the day the USPS collects it from the drop slot or collection box you put it into. This isn’t necessarily the same day you put it in! Every USPS drop slot and collection box has a schedule of collection times published on it. On a collection box, it’s immediately in front of the door you have to pull open to put items inside.

Image credit: Peter Hosey, used under CC-BY-NC 2.0 license. Source.

If you were to put your ballot in this collection box at, say, 3 PM on Tuesday, March 5, it would be collected no earlier than the next day, Wednesday, March 6. That’s too late!

Mailing your ballot after the last mail collection time on Election Day means it will be postmarked late and therefore won’t be counted.

The last collection time is different for every post office and collection box, so there’s no singular right answer. So, if you have to mail it on “Election Day” (e.g., because of your work schedule), use the USPS’s locator to find a collection box or Post Office that hasn’t had its last collection yet, and that you can get to in time.

The best option for “Election Day” voting is to go to a polling place or the City Hall voting center and drop off your ballot yourself.

Help! I need a new ballot!

You can get a replacement ballot if your original ballot has gone missing or is ruined in some way (e.g., you made a mark you didn’t mean to, especially for a candidate you didn’t mean to or for more candidates than you’re allowed to in that race).

Here, too, you have several options.

• You can contact the Department of Elections and ask them to mail you a new ballot.

• You can go to the Department of Elections at City Hall and ask for a new ballot.

• You can authorize a family member or housemate to pick up a replacement ballot to bring to you. The authorized person must be at least 16 years old.

• In the last week of the election (Tuesday, February 27–Tuesday, March 5), if you’re unable to go to a voting center or polling place for medical reasons (including staying home because you’re sick), you can authorize anyone to pick up a ballot to bring to you.

• On the last day of the election (Tuesday, March 5), you can go to any polling place in the City and ask for a new ballot. Note that you should try to go to a polling place in your precinct, as another precinct’s ballots may have some different races from yours.

Tracking your ballot

You have two options for tracking your ballot:

• SF’s Department of Elections has a section in the Voter Portal that will tell you the progress of your ballot so far. 

• The state has a “Where’s My Ballot?” system that can give you notifications as your ballot’s status progresses.

Note that it can take a few days for your ballot to show up in the Voter Portal’s tracking system after you drop it off. Don’t panic if your ballot doesn’t immediately show as received.