Burlingame, California Public Records

The Burlingame Police Department, accessible at https://www.burlingame.org/516/Police, serves as the primary law enforcement agency for the city. Residents and visitors can utilize this resource to report crimes, access criminal history records, and learn about the department's services and initiatives. Additionally, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Inmate Locator, available at https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/ciris/, provides information on individuals currently incarcerated within the state's correctional facilities.

For genealogical research and archival materials, the California State Archives, available at https://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/collections/, offers a valuable repository of historical information about the city and its residents.

Burlingame voters are served by the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division, located at 40 Tower Road, San Mateo, CA 94402 (phone: 650-312-5222, website: https://www.shapethefuture.org). This office handles all voter registration, ballot distribution, polling place assignments, and election administration for Burlingame residents. California voters can register online through the Secretary of State's website at https://registertovote.ca.gov, with registration deadlines of 15 days before each election; conditional voter registration is available through Election Day at designated locations. Voters need a California driver's license or ID number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Burlingame, as an incorporated city, holds municipal elections for mayor and four city council seats. The city transitioned to even-year elections, with council seats now contested in November of even years on a rotating basis. The next municipal election will occur in November 2026, when voters will decide city council seats. Candidates file with the City Clerk at Burlingame City Hall, 501 Primrose Road. Local ballot measures addressing city policies, taxes, or charter amendments also appear during municipal elections. Burlingame residents can find their assigned polling location by visiting https://www.shapethefuture.org/polling-place-lookup or calling the Elections Division; California's Voter's Choice Act has transformed San Mateo County into a vote center model where voters can cast ballots at any vote center in the county during the voting period. Public election records in California include voter registration lists (with addresses available to campaigns and researchers), campaign finance disclosure forms through the California Fair Political Practices Commission at http://www.fppc.ca.gov and local filings with the City Clerk, candidate statements, precinct-level results, and election materials. In the November 2024 presidential election, San Mateo County reported approximately 68% voter turnout with over 300,000 ballots cast, continuing the county's pattern of high civic engagement. On November 3, 2026, Burlingame and San Mateo County voters will participate in California's gubernatorial election, as Governor Gavin Newsom's term expires (note: California governors serve four-year terms; 2026 will feature the gubernatorial race). Voters will also decide statewide constitutional officers (Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, others), California State Senate and Assembly seats representing Burlingame's districts, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors seats for applicable districts, county offices, superior court judges, and local school board positions. California's U.S. Senate seats are up in 2024 and 2028, so no U.S. Senate race is expected in 2026. Burlingame voters can request vote-by-mail ballots through the County Elections website or by submitting an application; California is now a universal vote-by-mail state where all registered voters automatically receive mail ballots approximately 29 days before each election, with secure ballot drop boxes available throughout the county.