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The November 3 ballot, letter by letter: San Francisco and the state

Ten local letters plus a regional transit measure, and 14 statewide propositions. Here is what each one is called on the official lists, and how to read what you are voting on.

Better 311 · Sep 3, 2026 · 11:36 PM PT · 6 min

On November 3, San Franciscans will vote on 10 local measures, lettered A through J, plus a regional transit measure. Californians statewide will vote on 14 propositions. This is the official list as of September 3, 2026, in the words the city and state use, so the ballot you hold matches what you read here.

San Francisco: Charter Amendments A through F. Charter amendments change the city's founding document, which means they can rearrange city government itself. A touches departments and commissions. B would create a municipal finance corporation and a public bank. C directs contributions to the housing fund. D changes the ballot measure process. E expands the city administrator's authority and changes city contracting. F changes executive branch management.

San Francisco: Ordinances G through J. Ordinances change city law without touching the charter. G would allow private vehicles on the Great Highway in Sunset Dunes Park. H is a parcel tax to fund public Muni operations. I changes the real property transfer tax. J removes the foreclosure exemption from that transfer tax.

San Francisco measures on the November 3, 2026 ballot
SF letterKindOfficial title (short)
ACharter AmendmentCharter changes affecting various city departments and commissions
BCharter AmendmentEstablishing a municipal finance corporation and a public bank
CCharter AmendmentContributions to the housing fund
DCharter AmendmentChanges to the ballot measure process
ECharter AmendmentCity administrator's authority and changes to city contracting
FCharter AmendmentChanges to executive branch management
GOrdinanceAllowing private vehicles on the Great Highway in Sunset Dunes Park
HOrdinanceParcel tax to fund public Muni operations
IOrdinanceChanges to the real property transfer tax
JOrdinanceRemoval of the foreclosure exemption for the real property transfer tax

The ballot also carries the Regional Transit Measure, a regional question that appears alongside county measures across the Bay Area. San Francisco's Department of Elections lists it with the local letters and publishes its certification letter and arguments.

Statewide: 14 propositions. The Secretary of State's qualified list for November 3 runs Props 1 through 5 and 37 through 45. The numbering skips, because numbers are reserved as measures qualify and can be vacated if a measure falls off the ballot. One did this year: the state removed ACA 13 from the ballot on June 25, 2026.

California statewide measures on the November 3, 2026 ballot
PropOfficial title (short)Kind
1Authorizes bonds for housing affordability programsLegislative statute
2Increases the state's rainy day fundLegislative constitutional amendment
3Permanent funding for schools and health care by extending the existing tax on high incomesInitiative constitutional amendment
4Repeals the prohibition against public funding of election campaignsLegislative statute
5Changes the recall election process for statewide officersLegislative constitutional amendment
37Creates a loan program for middle-income buyers of qualified new homesInitiative statute
38Authorizes bonds for immunology medical researchInitiative statute
39Requires government-issued identification to voteInitiative constitutional amendment
40Imposes a one-time tax on certain taxpayersInitiative constitutional amendment and statute
41Bars new state taxes that exclude revenues from the state spending limit; requires audits for new special taxesInitiative constitutional amendment
42Bars new state personal property taxes and certain retroactive state taxesInitiative constitutional amendment
43Limits voters' ability to raise revenues for local government servicesLegislative constitutional amendment
44Requires community health clinics to spend 90 percent of revenue on program servicesInitiative statute
45Modifies environmental review for certain projectsInitiative statute

How to read what you are voting on. Two fields in the city's own ballot database tell you where a measure came from. The kind field separates charter amendments, ordinances, and policy declarations, which are advisory and change no law. The how placed field records the route: an initiative that qualified by petition, a measure the Board of Supervisors put on, or another origin. A measure's route is a clue to who wrote it and what it needed to survive. The same logic applies statewide, where the kind column in this list separates legislative measures from initiatives.

Voter guides for the local letters are published by the Department of Elections, and statewide guides by the Secretary of State, closer to the election. This list will be updated if a measure drops off or a title changes.

Sources: sf.gov qualified ballot measures page (Department of Elections) and the California Secretary of State qualified statewide ballot measures page, both pulled September 3, 2026. Local titles are shortened from the official measure titles; the full titles and legal text are linked on the city's page. The statewide list is current as of the pull; the state notes the list can change as measures qualify or are removed.
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