The order in which candidates will appear on San Mateo's Nov. 3 City Council ballot is now locked in, after a randomized alphabet drawing held Thursday, Aug. 13, at the county's Registration & Elections Division on Tower Road.
Two separate drawings governed different races. The California Secretary of State's randomized alphabet drawing set ballot order for City Council Districts 1, 3 and 5 along with most other offices. The San Mateo County drawing, conducted at 11 a.m. by Chief Elections Officer Mark Church's office, determined order for State Assembly Districts 19 and 23 and assigned letter designations to local measures, including San Mateo's two citywide ballot questions: a quarter-cent sales tax measure and a charter amendments measure.
"A randomized alphabet helps create a level playing field," Church said in a statement announcing the results. "If we used the standard alphabet in every election, 'John Adams' would always appear above 'George Washington.'"
Election officials and members of the public drew letters from a basket to build the shuffled sequence. The specific candidate order and measure letter designations had not yet been posted to the county's election website as of Aug. 14.
Who's running
Six candidates are competing across three districts, according to the city's candidate page:
- District 1: Taso Zografos and Lisa Diaz Nash
- District 3: Seema Patel and Robert G. Newsom Jr.
- District 5: Dave Johnson, Dana Yates Sahae and Adam Loraine
Four candidates accepted voluntary campaign spending limits: Zografos in District 1, plus Johnson, Sahae and Loraine in District 5. The two District 3 candidates did not. The spending ceiling is $2.63 per resident, which works out to roughly $56,700 in District 1, $55,400 in District 3 and $57,100 in District 5 based on 2020 Census population figures.
This is the first time Districts 1, 3 and 5 have been on the ballot since San Mateo's inaugural district-based council elections in November 2022.
What's next for voters
All registered San Mateo County voters will receive a Vote by Mail ballot starting Oct. 5. Three early Vote Centers open that same day in San Mateo, Redwood City and South San Francisco, with additional centers opening closer to Election Day.
The League of Women Voters will host a candidate forum Thursday, Oct. 1, at San Mateo City Hall Council Chambers, 330 W. 20th Ave. Voters can attend in person or watch via Zoom.
Polls on Election Day, Nov. 3, open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
