San Francisco County Municipal Code Art. II Nomination

Sec. 200. Nomination and Recall of Elective Officers; Incorporation of State Law. Sec. 201. Declaration of Candidacy. Sec. 205. Nomination Deadlines. Sec. 210. Use of Legal Names by Candidates. Sec. 220. Candidate Qualification Statements. Sec. 225. Ballot Designations. Sec. 230. Filing Fees; Signatures in Lieu of Filing Fees. Sec. 240. Defective Filings.

Sec. 250. Withdrawal of Nomination; Withdrawal of Support. Sec. 260. Withdrawal of Candidacy. Sec. 270. Death of Candidate.

SEC. 200. NOMINATION AND RECALL OF ELECTIVE OFFICERS; INCORPORATION OF STATE LAW. Except as otherwise provided by the Charter or this Municipal Elections Code, nomination of elective officers for the Board of Education of the San Francisco Unified School District or the Governing Board of the San Francisco Community College District shall be made pursuant to California Elections Code Section 10602 et seq. and nomination of all other City elective officers shall be made pursuant to California Elections Code Section 10220 et seq. The recall of elective officers shall be made pursuant to California Elections Code Section 11000 et seq. If the official proposed to be removed at a recall election is recalled, the vacancy shall be filled pursuant to Charter Sections 3.100(15) and 13.101.5. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 183-03, File No. 030652, App. 7/25/2003; Ord. 291-06, File No. 061375, App. 11/29/2006; Ord. 64-12 , File No. 111082, App. 4/20/2012, Eff. 5/20/2012, Op. 1/1/2013; Ord. 50-13 , File No. 120899, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013) SEC. 201. DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY. (a) Each candidate for any City elective office shall file the candidate’s declaration of candidacy on the same date the candidate files the declaration of intent to become a candidate required by subsection (a) of Section 1.122 of the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code. (b) If a member of a board, commission, or other body established by the Charter, other than a citizen advisory committee, has, at the time of the effective date of the ordinance in Board of Supervisors File No. 181029 enacting this Section 201, already filed a declaration of intent to become a candidate for any City elective office, that member shall, within 30 days of the aforementioned ordinance, file a declaration of candidacy for that City elective office. (c) Failure to file a declaration of candidacy as required by this Section 201 shall preclude the member from appearing on the ballot as a candidate for the City elective office referenced in the declaration of intent. (Added by Ord. 8-19, File No. 181029, App. 1/25/2019, Eff. 2/25/2019) SEC. 205. NOMINATION DEADLINES. (a) Candidates for Mayor and the Board of Supervisors must file nomination papers no later than the 147th day before a municipal election during normal office hours, as posted. Not earlier than the 172nd day nor later than the 147th day before the election, the voters may nominate these candidates for election by signing a nomination paper. (b) Candidates for all other City elective offices shall follow the nomination deadlines established by California Elections Code Section 10220 et seq. (Added by Ord. 64-12 , File No. 111082, App. 4/20/2012, Eff. 5/20/2012, Op. 1/1/2013 ; amended by Ord. 50-13 , File No. 120899, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013) SEC. 210. USE OF LEGAL NAMES BY CANDIDATES. (a) Any candidate for municipal office filing nomination papers and a declaration of candidacy shall do so under the candidate’s legal name. (b) A candidate’s legal name is the name given at birth, or established by marriage, general usage or habit, or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction. A candidate’s legal name may include a nickname, a combination of initials, full names, or individual letters or numerals. (c) If a candidate changes his or her legal name within one year of any election, the candidate shall not file nomination papers or a declaration of candidacy under the candidate’s new name unless the new name was established by marriage or divorce, or by decree of a

court of competent jurisdiction. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 8-19, File No. 181029, App. 1/25/2019, Eff. 2/25/2019) SEC. 220. CANDIDATE QUALIFICATION STATEMENTS. (a) Content and Form of Statement. Candidates may file a candidate qualification statement including the name, age and occupation of the candidate and a description of no more than 200 words of the candidate's education and qualifications as expressed by the candidate. To ensure that all statements are filed in a uniform format, the statement shall be in a manner specified and on a form provided by the Director of Elections for this purpose. (b) Deadline for Submission of Statement. Candidates who choose to submit a candidate qualification statement shall file the statement with the Department of Elections when the candidate returns his or her nomination papers for filing. (c) Inclusion of Nominators and Supporters. The candidate qualification statement may but need not include the names of some or all of the candidate's nominators. The statement may also include the names of individuals and entities which support the candidate but which did not serve as nominators. However, the names of such supporters shall not be published as part of the candidate's qualification statement unless the candidate provides the supporter's written authorization at the time the statement is submitted to the Director of Elections. The authorization shall be in a form prescribed by the Director of Elections. If the candidate chooses to include the names of nominators or other supporters in the candidate qualification statement, these names shall be counted toward the 200-word limit. (d) Limitations. The candidate qualification statement shall not include the party affiliation of the candidate, nor membership or activity in partisan political organizations. (e) Withdrawal of Statement. A candidate for Mayor or the Board of Supervisors may withdraw, but not change, his or her candidate qualification statement by filing with the Director of Elections a signed and sworn statement of withdrawal no later than 5:00 p.m. of the 126th day prior to the election. A candidate for any other City elective office may withdraw, but not change, his or her candidate qualification statement by filing with the Director of Elections a signed and sworn statement of withdrawal no later than 5:00 p.m. of the sixty-seventh day prior to the election. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 92-02, File No. 020596, App. 6/14/2002; Ord. 291-06, File No. 061375, App. 11/29/2006; Ord. 50-13 , File No. 120899, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013) SEC. 225. BALLOT DESIGNATIONS. The submission and form of ballot designations shall be governed by California Elections Code Section 13107 and any implementing regulations, rules or guidelines issued by the California Secretary of State. (Added by Ord. 183-03, File No. 030652, App. 7/25/2003) SEC. 230. FILING FEES; SIGNATURES IN LIEU OF FILING FEES. (a) Except where the Charter or this Code provides otherwise, the applicable provisions of Division 8, Part 1, Chapter 1 of the California Elections Code shall govern the collection, submission, and processing of signatures in lieu of filing fees. (b) Each candidate shall pay to the Director of Elections at the time of filing the candidate’s nomination certificates the fee specified in Section 810 of this Code. (c) In lieu of part or all of the filing fee, a candidate may submit to the Director of Elections signatures of voters registered in San Francisco. Each signature submitted shall reduce the fee by the amount specified in Section 840 of this Code. Each in-lieu petition shall include spaces for the voter’s signature, printed name, and residence address. The residence address shall include street and number within the City and County, or other adequate designation of residence so that the location may be readily ascertained. Across the top of each printed page there shall be printed in 12-point boldface type the following: “Petition in Lieu of Candidate Filing Fee.” (d) A candidate may submit a greater number of signatures than required to reduce the filing fee to zero. The Director of Elections shall not be required to determine the validity of a greater number of signatures than that required to reduce the filing fee to zero. If the number of signatures affixed to an in-lieu petition is 100 or more, the Director of Elections may use a random sampling technique for verification of the signatures. The random sampling shall include an examination of 100 signatures, or 3% of the total number of signatures submitted, whichever is greater. Upon completion of the verification of signatures in the sample, the percentage of signatures which are valid shall be applied and projected to the total number of signatures submitted. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 50-13 , File No. 120899, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013; Ord. 8-19, File No. 181029, App. 1/25/2019, Eff. 2/25/2019)

SEC. 240. DEFECTIVE FILINGS. In the event the Director of Elections refuses to accept for filing a declaration of candidacy, petition in lieu of filing fee or nomination certificate, the Director of Elections shall forthwith state in writing on the declaration, petition or certificate the nature of the defect, or other reason for refusing to accept the same, and shall return the same to the party tendering it. No defect in any declaration, petition or certificate presented to the Director of Elections shall prevent the filing of another declaration, petition or certificate within the period allowed for presenting the declaration, petition or certificate. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97) SEC. 250. WITHDRAWAL OF NOMINATION; WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT. A nominator may withdraw his or her nomination of a candidate by notifying the candidate at least 72 hours before the close of the nomination period and filing with the Director of Elections, at any time up until 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the nomination period, a signed and sworn statement of withdrawal stating that the nominator provided the candidate with the required 72 hours notice. No nominator may withdraw his or her nomination of a candidate after 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the nomination period. Supporters who are not nominators but who authorize use of their name in the candidate qualification statement may withdraw this authorization by filing with the Director of Elections a signed and sworn statement of withdrawal at any time up until 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the nomination period. No supporter may withdraw his or her authorization after 5 p.m. on the last day of the nomination period. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 183-03, File No. 030652, App. 7/25/2003) SEC. 260. WITHDRAWAL OF CANDIDACY. The name of every candidate who has been duly and regularly nominated shall be placed on the ballot under the title of the office for which he or she is a candidate, provided that a candidate whose nomination has been completed may withdraw as a candidate by filing a signed and sworn statement of withdrawal with the Director of Elections. Statements of withdrawal by candidates for Mayor or the Board of Supervisors must be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 126th day before the election. Statements of withdrawal by candidates for all other City elective offices must be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 67th day before the election. No candidate may withdraw after these deadlines. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 50-13 , File No. 120899, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013) SEC. 270. DEATH OF CANDIDATE. The Director of Elections shall not print a candidate's name upon the ballot or the candidate's Candidate Qualification Statement in the Voter Information Pamphlet if, before 5:00 p.m. on the 67th day before the date of the election, the Director ascertains that the candidate has died. If the Director ascertains after 5:00 p.m. on the 67th day before the date of the election that the candidate has died, the Director shall print the candidate's name on the ballot and the candidate's Candidate Qualification Statement in the Voter Information Pamphlet, provided that the candidate's declaration of candidacy otherwise complied with all legal requirements. (Added by Ord. 183-03, File No. 030652, App. 7/25/2003)