Mediaboss Marketing

Department of Elections City and County of San Francisco John Arntz, Director

For Immediate Release

SAN FRANCISCO, Thursday, November 9, 2023 This week, the San Francisco Department of Elections will begin mailing notices to the nearly 130,000 local voters who are registered without a preference for a qualified political party. These notices explain how such voters can request ballots that list a presidential contest.

Although all March 5 primary election ballots will have contests for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, State Senator, State Assembly Member, Judges of the Superior Court, and state and local measures, not all ballots will list party-specific contests, such as the office of U.S. President and County Central Committee membership.

Voters registered with a preference for a qualified political party will receive a ballot with that partys contests.

Voters registered without a preference for a qualified political party have several options. First, they can re-register with any qualified political party to receive a ballot with that partys contests. Second, they can request a one-time ballot with the presidential candidates of the American Independent, Democratic, or Libertarian parties. Finally, voters can opt to take no action, in which case they will receive a non-partisan ballot with no presidential contest or County Central Committee contest.

Any voter can change their political party preference at registertovote.ca.gov or by completing a paper registration form until February 20, 2024. After that, voters can do so in person at a voting site.

With this weeks mailing of notices, we want to ensure that voters registered without stating a preference for a political party have ample time to take any actions necessary to receive a ballot with party-specific contests, said Director John Arntz. Voters must act by January 5, 2024 because the Department will begin preparations to mail ballots for the March 5, 2024 election at that time. Any voter with no party preference who does not submit their ballot request or re-register with a preference for a political party by January 5, will receive a ballot with no party-specific contests. Although voters can still request a different ballot through Election Day, we encourage them to act early to avoid confusion.

Voters with no political party preference who wish to request a ballot with presidential candidates can do so in one of three ways:

1. Complete and return the detachable postage-paid section of the mailed notice.

2. Submit their ballot request online at sfelections.org/voterportal or by calling (415) 554-4375.

3. Text START to (415) 941-5495 followed by their name, date of birth, address, and ballot request.

To vote for a partys County Central Committee members, voters must be registered with a preference for that political party.

All voters are encouraged to check information in their voter registration records, including their party preference and address, by visiting sfelections.org/voterportal or by calling the Department of Elections at (415) 554-4375.

###

Department of Elections

City and County of San Francisco

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

City Hall, Room 48

San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) 554-4375

sfelections.org

See the rest here:
The Department of Elections Notifies Voters with No Party ... - City and County of San Francisco