Elections

This election, voters in Richmond elected City Council members, West Contra Costa School Board members, and passed Measure U, which changes the way businesses are taxed — it would generate $5 million dollars a year for the city.

Indians now look at the 2020 American elections and understand that there’s chaos that’s colorful and then there’s chaos thats toxic.

It’s around 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning at the 2200 block of the Wood Street homeless encampment in West Oakland.

In San Francisco, there are 588 polling places spread out across the city. And, most elections, the city needs about 3,000 people to volunteer to work them. This year, the Department of Elections got more applicants than ever -- 14,000! They actually had to turn people away. 

  On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we're discussing the Republican Party’s plot for permanent minority rule. Over the past few decades, they've successfully gerrymandered districts across the country, giving Republicans victories even though Democrats receive more votes. They've also passed voter suppression laws, including voter ID requirements, mass purges of voting rolls, and polling place closures. 

  On this edition of Your Call, we're getting an update on early voting, problems at the polls and Republican sponsored voter suppression. Nearly 79 million people have already voted, but experts estimate that one to two percent of absentee ballots could be rejected.

  On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we're discussing the new Frontline documentary Whose Vote Counts, which investigates Republican efforts to suppress the vote, from the past to the present. At least 47 million people have already voted. Whose vote counts? And whose doesn't?

  On this edition of Your Call, we’re discussing record early voter turnout. Nearly 34 million Americans have already voted, compared to just 1.4 million at this time in 2016.

  On this special election edition of Your Call, we're speaking with Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, about how Californians will be voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. What questions do you have?

  On this edition of Your Call, we’re getting an update on what the Biden campaign is doing to secure the Latino vote. This year, 32 million Latinos are eligible to vote, which will make up the largest non-white voting bloc in US history.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story contained errors that have been corrected. It incorrectly stated that "Measure RR would add a 0.125% sales tax on Caltrain fares for the next 30 years." This has been corrected to say the 0.125% increase is a general sales tax increase in three Bay Area counties, not just an increase in tax on Caltrain fares.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

San Francisco Measure L is more popularly known as the “overpaid executive tax.”

Here’s how it would work: Starting in 2022, if a San Francisco-based company’s highest-paid employee makes between 100 to 200 times the median salary of the company's local workforce, then the city would levy a point one percent fee of the company’s total revenues.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

Measure K would authorize San Francisco to develop and own up to 10,000 units of affordable rental housing. Its supporters call it a “green light for social housing.” That means housing for a mix of income groups, owned or financed by the government.  But Measure K is just an authorization: a separate citywide measure would need to pass in order to provide the funding. That’s Proposition I.

  On this edition of Your Call, we’re discussing how Latino activists are getting out the vote. This year, a record 32 million Latinos living in the US will be eligible to vote, many for the first time.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.  

Measure J is a $288 parcel tax designed to raise funds for teacher salaries and school improvements. It would apply to all taxable real estate in the city though there is an exemption for seniors over 65. The Controller’s Office says the measure could generate almost $50 million a year. 

  On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we're getting an update on the devastating fires in Northern California. The fast moving wildfire in Butte and Yuba Counties have killed 10 people. Thousands have been forced to evacuate. Paradise, a town devastated by fires two years ago, is, once again, under threat.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.  

Measure I proposes to double property tax rates for properties sold at more than $10 million. San Francisco’s Accounting Office estimates this could increase annual revenues by an average of $196 million, but that could fluctuate significantly. 

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

Measure H is called the Save our Small Businesses Initiative. This prop intends to assist small businesses in San Francisco by making it easier for them to open and operate.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.  

Measure G proposes to amend San Francisco’s voter age requirement for local elections, allowing 16 and 17-year olds to vote on municipal measures. It would not affect voting eligibility for state or national ballot measures. 

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

Local government leaders are aiming to soften COVID-19’s blow to the economy by overhauling the city’s tax structure.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

If passed, Measure E would allow San Francisco to make changes to the number of full-time police officers on its force.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.  

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since the story was originally published, San Francisco's Office of the Controller increased the estimated annual cost of creating the Inspector General's Office from $1.4-$1.8 million up to $2-$2.5 million.

Earlier this year, George Floyd’s killing while in police custody prompted greater focus on police oversight and accountability nationwide. Here in San Francisco, Measure D aims to investigate misconduct within the Sheriff’s Department. 

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.  

San Francisco Measure C would allow any San Francisco resident of legal voting age — at least 18 years old — to become a member of a board, commission, and advisory body. 

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

Currently, San Francisco does not have a department solely dedicated to keeping its streets and public areas clean. Those responsibilities are currently part of the Public Works department. Measure B proposes splitting off some of public works’ responsibilities into a new department of sanitation and streets.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

San Francisco Measure A is a proposal that takes on three major issues: To address homelessness, enhance parks, open spaces and recreation facilities, and improve street conditions.

On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we're discussing the impacts of China’s national security law on Hong Kong. In recent weeks, independent media organizations have come under attack, activists have been arrested, and several have fled the country. What’s next for the territory?

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all

Currently, California uses a cash bail system, for those awaiting trial in jail. But, many advocacy groups have long criticized cash bail, arguing it targets low income people who aren’t able to pay these bonds. In 2016, California Senator Robert Hertzberg introduced Senate Bill 10, or SB 10 — a bill that would end cash bail in California and replace it with a “risk assessment” system based on the likelihood that the person awaiting trial will fail to appear in court.

This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.

Proposition 24 is about consumer data privacy laws in California. And it’s a complicated one.

Two years ago, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the CCPA. It was the first state law in the country to protect consumers’ personal information.