San Francisco, California, Proposition A, Affordable Housing Bond Measure (March 2024)

San Francisco Proposition A
Election date March 5, 2024
Topic City bonds and Local housing
Status Approved
Type Referral

San Francisco Proposition A was on the ballot as a referral in San Francisco on March 5, 2024. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported: authorizing San Francisco to issue $300 million in bonds to construct, develop, acquire, or rehabilitate affordable housing, including constructing 46,598 very low- to moderate-income housing units by 2031 as required by state law;  authorizing a property tax increase (expected to be an average of $5.70 per $100,000 assessed value) through 2047 to repay the bonds; and allowing landlords to pass through up to 50% of resulting property tax increases to tenants.

A "no" vote opposed authorizing San Francisco to issue $300 million in bonds to construct, develop, acquire, or rehabilitate affordable housing.

A 66.67% supermajority vote was required for the approval of Proposition A.

Election results

San Francisco Proposition A
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		158,497	70.38%
No		66,690	29.62%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition A was as follows:

“

SAN FRANCISCO AFFORDABLE HOUSING BONDS. To construct, develop, acquire, and/or rehabilitate housing, including workforce housing and senior housing, that will be affordable to households ranging from extremely low-income to moderate-income households; shall the City and County of San Francisco issue $300,000,000 in general obligation bonds, subject to independent citizen oversight and regular audits, with a duration of up to 30 years from the time of issuance, an estimated average tax rate of $0.0057/$100 of assessed property value, and projected average annual revenues of $25,000,000?

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• Mayor London Breed (Nonpartisan)
• County Supervisor Aaron Peskin (Nonpartisan)

Political Parties

• San Francisco Democratic Party

Organizations

• Council of Community Housing Organizations
• Mission Housing Development Corporation
• San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association
• San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations
• San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee
• San Francisco Labor Council
• San Francisco Women's Political Committee
• Senior and Disability Action
• United Educators of San Francisco

Arguments

• Mayor London Breed: "That's why we've come together to champion Proposition A, a critical solution to our housing affordability crisis. Proposition A will: • Provide essential affordable housing for working parents and families so they can continue to live and work in San Francisco. • Secure housing for seniors on fixed incomes who are having to choose between paying for housing and purchasing groceries and necessities. • Provide affordable housing for first responders so they can both live and work in the city and be available if an earthquake or other disaster strikes. • Help San Francisco meet our State RHNA housing goals which require us to approve 46,000 affordable housing units in the next eight years or lose state funding. • Implement stringent fiscal controls and robust oversight including annual independent audits and review of all spending to ensure that funds are used as promised. • Earn matching funds from state and federal affordable housing programs with a goal of doubling our investment for housing. • Not increase property tax rates, so that neither homeowners or renters will see an increase in housing costs as a result of the bond."

Opposition

Arguments

• Larry Marso, Esq.: "The Mayor and Board of Supervisors have embraced insane state mandates to build 82,000 new San Francisco homes over 5 years. Their plan changes the character of every neighborhood, bulldozes the West Side, and brings poverty, drugs, crime and homelessness to a street corner near you. Vote NO on Proposition A to stop it. For a decade, San Francisco taxpayers poured $1.5 billion into 'affordable housing' schemes, including a $600 million bond (2019) and a $245 million bond (2020). Why another $300 million bond now? The city's borrowing capacity is nearly exhausted. Big trouble ahead for infrastructure bonds: Earthquake Safety, Healthcare and Waterfront Safety. The Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development ended 2022 with $537 million in excess funds. It doesn't need the money. Not a penny of "affordable housing" programs benefit existing home owners and renters. Proposition A's radical agenda is state ownership and control of the real estate market, the end of vacancy decontrol ("Costa Hawkins"), dismantling Proposition 13 and dramatically higher property taxes. I led the campaign against the 2022 MUNI bond, a victory for taxpayers. We cut future property taxes by $4,000 per homeowner. Let's do it again."

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in California

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to place the measure on the ballot on November 14, 2023. Mayor London Breed approved of the measure on November 16, 2023.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in California

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in California.

How to vote in California

Poll times

All polls in California are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in California, an individual must be a U.S. citizen and California resident. A voter must be at least 18 years of age on Election Day. Pre-registration is available at 16 years of age. Pre-registered voters are automatically registered to vote when they turn 18.

Automatic registration

California automatically registers eligible individuals to vote when they complete a driver's license, identification (ID) card, or change of address transaction through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Learn more by visiting this website.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

California has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

California allows same-day voter registration.

Californians must be registered to vote at least 15 days before Election Day. If the registration deadline has passed for an upcoming election, voters may visit a location designated by their county elections official during the 14 days prior to, and including Election Day to conditionally register to vote and vote a provisional ballot, which are counted once county election officials have completed the voter registration verification process. The state refers to this process as Same Day Voter Registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in California, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

California's constitution requires that voters be U.S. citizens. When registering to vote, proof of citizenship is not required. Individuals who become U.S. citizens less than 15 days before an election must bring proof of citizenship to their county elections office to register to vote in that election. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

As of November 2024, two jurisdictions in California had authorized noncitizen residents to vote for local board of education positions through local ballot measures. Only one of those jurisdictions, San Francisco, had implemented that law. Noncitizens voting for board of education positions must register to vote using a separate application from the state voter registration application.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The secretary of state's My Voter Status website allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

California does not require voters to present identification before casting a ballot in most cases. However, some voters may be asked to show a form of identification when voting if they are voting for the first time after registering to vote by mail and did not provide a driver license number, California identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number. On September 29, 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 1174 into law prohibiting any jurisdiction in the state from adopting a local law that requires voters to present ID before voting.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of October 2024. Click here for the California Secretary of State page to ensure you have the most current information.

“

Current and valid photo identification provided by a third party in the ordinary course of business that includes the name and photograph of the individual presenting it. Examples of photo identification include, but are not limited to, the following documents: driver's license or identification card of any state; passport; employee identification card; identification card provided by a commercial establishment; credit or debit card; military identification card; student identification card; health club identification card; insurance plan identification card; or public housing identification card. Any of the following documents, provided that the document includes the name and address of the individual presenting it, and is dated since the date of the last general election…: utility bill; bank statement; government check; government paycheck; document issued by a governmental agency; sample ballot or other official elections document issued by a governmental, agency dated for the election in which the individual is providing it as proof, of residency or identity; voter notification card issued by a governmental agency; public housing identification card issued by a governmental agency; lease or rental statement or agreement issued by a governmental agency; student identification card issued by a governmental agency; tuition statement or bill issued by a governmental agency; insurance plan card or drug discount card issued by a governmental agency; discharge certificates, pardons, or other official documents issued to the individual by a governmental agency in connection with the resolution of a criminal case, indictment, sentence, or other matter; public transportation authority senior citizen and disabled discount cards issued by a governmental agency; identification documents issued by governmental disability agencies; identification documents issued by government homeless shelters and other government temporary or transitional facilities; drug prescription issued by a government doctor or other governmental health care provider; (R) property tax statement issued by a governmental agency; vehicle registration issued by a governmental agency; or vehicle certificate of ownership issued by a governmental agency.

”

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2024
• Local housing on the ballot
• City bonds on the ballot

California

• California 2024 local measures
• Local ballot measures, California
• San Francisco, California

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas