Voter resources

How to vote.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
Here is how to return your ballot, how ranked choice works, and what to do if you make a mistake.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3

Find your polling place or the nearest drop box.

Your polling place

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Yours is the one with your name on the roster, and the Department of Elections lookup is the way to find it. It is also printed on the back cover of your Voter Information Pamphlet.

Look up my polling place →

Any polling place will take your sealed mail ballot. The City Hall Voting Center, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, is open to every San Francisco voter on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The nearest drop box

All 37 official drop boxes are outdoors and open around the clock until 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Each one shows the City seal and the American flag.

See the official map of all 37

Drop boxes in and around District 8

Ranked choice

How ranked-choice voting works.

Supervisor is a ranked-choice contest. Instead of picking one candidate, you rank them in the order you prefer. Four names are on the District 8 ballot, so the grid has four rows, one per candidate, plus a line for a write-in. The columns run from your first choice to your tenth.

The District 8 supervisor contest as it appears on the ballot, with Darshini’s handwritten notes Rows in ballot order: Darshini Patel, Michael T. Nguyen, Emanuel “Manny” Yekutiel, Gary McCoy, and a write-in line. Columns for first, second, and third choice. Darshini’s first-choice oval is filled in. Handwritten notes say: second and third are your call; Yekutiel dropped out, with his name crossed out; and if you are not sure, Darshini has endorsed Gary McCoy for second, with his second-choice oval circled. MEMBER, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, DISTRICT 8 1st 2nd 3rd Choice Choice Choice DARSHINI PATEL Community Advocate MICHAEL T. NGUYEN Attorney / Drag Producer EMANUEL “MANNY” YEKUTIEL Small Business Owner GARY MCCOY Healthcare Policy Advocate 123 123 123 123 123 #2 and #3 are your call me, your #1 dropped out not sure? I’ve endorsed Gary for #2
The District 8 contest in the order it appears on your ballot, with my notes. One oval per column, and each candidate in one column only.

How to mark it.

  1. Fill in the ovals from left to right: the first column for your first choice, the second column for your second, and so on.
  2. One oval per column. If you give the same ranking to two candidates, your vote in this contest will not count.
  3. Each candidate in one column only. If you mark the same candidate twice, only the first ranking counts.
  4. Rank as few or as many as you like. A second or third choice never hurts your first choice, because later choices are only looked at once your first choice is out of the count.

How the count goes with four candidates.

To win, a candidate needs more than half of the ballots still in the count. The Department counts in rounds, and with four candidates it takes at most three.

  1. Round one. Every ballot’s first choice is counted. If one candidate has more than half, they win and the count stops. With four candidates splitting the vote, that often does not happen.
  2. Round two. The candidate in fourth place is eliminated. Each ballot that ranked them first moves to its next choice among the three still in. Everything is counted again, and more than half wins.
  3. Round three. If there is still no majority, the candidate now in third place is eliminated and those ballots move the same way. Two candidates are left, and the one with more of the ballots still counting wins.

A ballot drops out of the count only when every candidate ranked on it has been eliminated. If you rank one candidate and they are eliminated in round two, your ballot has no say in round three. A second and third choice keep your ballot in the count to the end.

One of the four names, Manny Yekutiel, ended his campaign after the ballots were printed, so he is still listed. Votes for him are counted in round one like any other, and if he is eliminated those ballots move to their next choice.

The Department’s explanation, and a practice ballot that shows how your rankings would be counted.

Changed your mind?

Changed your mind, or marked the wrong oval? Get a new ballot.

If your ballot is still in your hands, you can swap it for a fresh one. The Voter Bill of Rights in the Voter Information Pamphlet puts it in one sentence: you have the right to a new ballot if you made a mistake, if you have not already cast your ballot. A change of heart works the same way. You have until the polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, and three ways to do it:

  1. Go to the City Hall Voting Center (ground floor of City Hall, in front of Room 48) and exchange your ballot for a new one. It is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through November 2, the weekend of October 31 and November 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hours and details.
  2. On Election Day, go to your polling place between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. and hand your unused ballot to a poll worker, who will give you a new one. Find your polling place.
  3. Ask for a replacement by phone or online at sfelections.gov/voterportal or (415) 558-6100. The Department asks for these requests at least seven days before Election Day, so this close to November 3, going in person is the sure route. Replacement ballot rules.

Mark only the new ballot and return that one. Only one ballot per voter is counted.

Official sources

Questions for the Department of Elections: (415) 558-6100 or SFVote@sfgov.org.

Local & State Proposition Guide →