Preserve Fair Ballot Access for Everyday San Franciscans. Vote NO on the Mayor's Charter Reform
Do you want to preserve fair ballot access in San Francisco? In November 2026, follow Indivisible SF’s recommendation and vote NO on Mayor Lurie’s billionaire-backed theft of our direct democracy.
The Mayor’s “Fix Our Broken Ballot Process” is a ballot initiative and part of Lurie’s Charter Reform on the November 2026 ballot. It is funded by $8.6 Million in 2026 from SF billionaires (Moritz, Pritzker and Larsen), private equity, tech executives and “philanthropists.” The Preserve Fair Ballot Access Committee, comprised of the San Francisco Labor Council, SEIU and over 20 unions, tenant rights, anti-displacement and housing rights organizations, is organizing to oppose and defeat this power grab for the wealthy.
Fact Sheet
Summary:
The proposed charter amendment would make it significantly harder for citizens to place measures on the ballot by quadrupling the signature requirement from 2% (~10,500) to 8% (~42,000) of registered voters. The measure also requires 6 Supervisors to place an ordinance on the ballot, and eliminates the Mayor's unilateral authority to place a measure on it.
Why it’s a problem:
Citizens initiatives have created some of the most important and impactful laws in San Francisco history such as:
Increasing the minimum wage
Banning corrupt donations from City contractors to politicians
Expanding public records access
Establishing rent control
Funding schools, childcare, and affordable housing
Had this proposed charter amendment been in effect, none of those laws would have made it on the ballot, nor would they have been passed overwhelmingly by SF voters. This proposal makes it virtually impossible for everyday San Franciscans to place measures on the ballot that protect us, or hold politicians and corporations accountable.
Proponents claim that it’s too easy to place a measure on the ballot, that it’s too easy for the voices of regular people to be heard. But their proposed measure would make our city’s initiative process one of the most restrictive in the whole state. It would make our threshold four times higher than required by the State of California, and the HIGHEST of any California county.
History:
In 1898 we created the framework for ballot initiatives. In 1932 we tied initiative ordinances to how many voters turn out in the mayoral election.
During the 1996 Charter Reform, San Franciscans codified that 5% of the votes cast for Mayoral elections would be used to calculate the number of signatures required to place a measure on the ballot. During 2022, Prop H changed ordinance initiatives to 2% of all registered voters in the city and county of San Francisco . This percentage, 2% of all registered voters, is higher than our 1932 and 1996 Charter but generally, San Franciscans have been able to access the ballot with approximately the same number of signatures. The Mayor’s proposal throws that out the window and strips us of rights that we have had for 128 years.
Take Action
Tell your friends you’ll be voting NO on the “Fix our broken Ballot System”, the Mayor’s Charter Reform powergrab, and encourage them to get involved too.
When we participate in our local democracy, we can create a vibrant future that works for all San Franciscans, not just the wealthy few. Follow ISF discussions about what and who are on the ballot, our democratic process for endorsements and Calls to Action for this November on our website,Social Media and our next monthly membership meeting, August 16th, 2-4PM. If you’re on our Slack, join the #propositions_discussion, #endorsement_cd11, #voter_outreach channels and contribute to the process.
References:
https://missionlocal.org/2026/07/daniel-lurie-san-francisco-charter-reform-ballot-measure/