South San Francisco, California Public Records

When major crimes or emergencies require additional resources, these municipal departments coordinate closely with the Sheriff's Office, pooling expertise and support for larger-scale investigations that cross jurisdictional boundaries.

California residents register to vote online through the California Secretary of State's website at https://registertovote.ca.gov using a California driver license or ID number; the standard deadline falls 15 days before any election, though conditional voter registration permits same-day registration and voting at vote centers or county election offices through Election Day. Eligibility requires U.S. Citizenship, California residency, being at least 18 years old by Election Day, and not currently being imprisoned or on parole for a felony conviction. The city conducts municipal elections for City Council seats and Mayor using district-based elections—four council districts plus a mayor elected citywide—with contests held in even-numbered years each November alongside statewide races. The next municipal election arrives in November 2026. Voters can locate their polling place or vote center by visiting the San Mateo County website or entering their address at https://www.shapethefuture.org/where-to-vote. San Mateo County adopted the Vote Center model under the California Voter's Choice Act, allowing any resident to cast ballots at any vote center countywide during the 11 days leading up to and including Election Day rather than being restricted to a specific precinct. All registered voters automatically receive vote-by-mail ballots, which can be returned by mail with no postage required if mailed by Election Day, at official drop boxes scattered throughout San Mateo County, or at any vote center. During the November 2024 presidential election, San Mateo County reported roughly 74% voter turnout with approximately 340,000 ballots cast out of about 460,000 registered voters. For the November 3, 2026 general election, residents will decide multiple races including all U.S. House of Representatives seats (the city sits in California's 15th Congressional District), California Governor (Gavin Newsom's term expires in 2027, placing this race on the ballot), all California State Assembly seats (the community falls in the 21st Assembly District), even-numbered State Senate districts (the 11th and 13th Senate Districts cover parts of San Mateo County), various county offices including Board of Supervisors District 5 which covers the city, plus local City Council races and any city or county ballot measures. Public election records in California include voter registration files available to candidates and researchers with restrictions on personal information use under California Elections Code §2194, campaign finance disclosures filed with the California Secretary of State for state races and with the county for local contests searchable at https://www.fppc.ca.gov for state and county websites for local, candidate statements and declarations, precinct-level election results, and vote counts broken down by method. Detailed election results are published by the county at https://www.shapethefuture.org/past-elections.