Live Blog: San Francisco Voters Weigh in on Chesa Boudin Recall, State and National Primaries

Here we go again. San Franciscans are heading to the polls for the third time this year to decide on a number of issues that will shape the city’s political landscape for years to come.

The most notable item on the ballot is Measure H, the initiative to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Read a full accounting of all the issues at stake in the June 7 primary election here. Wondering how to vote? Find your voting location here and scroll to the bottom of this post for a map of drop boxes throughout the city and a round up of video explainers on each issue on the ballot.

Return to this live blog throughout the day for election day updates and results.

4:30 PM: DA’s recall in the spotlight. 

Senior reporter Josh Koehn sat down this afternoon to discuss the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin in a segment with The Standard’s media partner ABC7. Take a few minutes and listen to his conversation with anchor Karina Nova as they discuss how the recall effort started, what comes next if it succeeds and why the campaign to oust the progressive prosecutor has garnered national attention.

3:15 PM: Could this be the most unique polling site in San Francisco? 

Residents are voting today—as they have in years past—at the San Francisco Columbarium & Funeral Home, a non-denominational crematorium known for its Neoclassical architectural style and elaborate stained glass.

The Columbarium holds the remains of many notable people important to San Francisco history, including Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to a public office in California—who was later assassinated—and Edward Taylor, the 28th mayor of San Francisco.

People vote at the San Francisco Columbarium & Funeral Home on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. | Camille Cohen/The Standard

1 PM: Getting out the vote is getting to be a challenge.

Though it’s unclear where she got her numbers, San Francisco progressive organizer and one-time Scott Weiner challenger Jackie Fielder took to Twitter late yesterday to claim that 89% of city voters under the age of 35 had yet to vote.

A whopping 89% of registered San Francisco voters under 35 haven’t voted yet!!

Get yourself to a mailbox today and vote No on H!!

— Jackie Fielder (@JackieFielder_) June 6, 2022

Two voting sites visited by The Standard this morning were mostly still, with a handful of voters trickling in each hour to drop off their ballots or vote.

Over at the Third Baptist Church polling site on McAllister St., staffer Robert Wilkes watched TV to pass the time, and Wesley Allen, a volunteer at a residential polling site on Scott St. admired the exterior of the pink Victorian home where polling was being conducted. It was at that location, around 9:30 a.m., that voter Jason Wolterstorff, with his dog Petey, stopped by to drop off his ballot.

A voting site in Scott Street residential garage, above, and a voting site at Third Baptist Church, below, on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. Paul Kuroda/The Standard

12:15 PM: Under the gun.

It was a tale of two takes on Chesa Boudin’s record on guns, as the embattled DA sought to tout his progressive bona fides by calling attention to an endorsement from a group called Moms Demand Action Gun Sense in a since-deleted tweet. It didn’t take long for the official Yes on H Twitter account to counter (in an also-since-deleted tweet), pointing to a case involving gun violence, which it said proves Boudin is “incompetent.”

12 PM: Pounding the pavement.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin hit the streets Tuesday morning, accompanied by Supervisor Dean Preston and the DA Office’s Director of Communications Rachel Marshall, in a last-minute attempt to reach voters and encourage them to vote “No on H.” Boudin handed out flyers to passersby near bus stops and crosswalks around Alamo Square and raised his fist in a sign of resolve to passing residents.

San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin, top, campaigns against Prop. H, along with Rachel Marshall, bottom left, and Supervisor Dean Preston, bottom right, on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. | Paul Kuroda/The Standard

11:30 AM: Progressive DAs unite.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner took to Twitter to voice his support for Chesa Boudin this morning, urging San Franciscans to vote no on H. Krasner is one of the country’s most progressive DAs and is often mentioned in conversations about Boudin—along with Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon. GOP-sponsored state legislation crafted in 2020 to pave the way for his recall failed to pass and he cruised to re-election in November with 69% of the vote.

San Francisco– today is the day you need to get out and Vote NO on #PropH. We can't let Republicans buy an election. We need @chesaboudin in office. We can't let people who want to spend $7 million steal a race. Go vote. VOTE NO. pic.twitter.com/C3fovuOkOM

— LarryKrasner4DA (@Krasner4DA) June 7, 2022

11:15 AM: Where do all the ballots go?

Did you vote by mail? Ever wonder how your ballot is counted? Unlike letters to Santa Claus—which are processed by speed reading elves (obviously)—your votes are counted with the help of machines, including a ballot scanner and even a ballot opener.

@sfstandard Did you vote by mail in San Francisco? Ever wonder how your ballot actually gets counted? It involved a lot of machinery, including a high-speed scanner. Check it out. #sanfrancisco #electionday #election #voting #ivoted #civicparticipation #cityhall #sfstandard #political #politics #news #vote #recall #sf #sfnews #bayarea #tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #thisisforyou ♬ The Final Countdown (Originally Performed by Europe) [Instrumental Version] – Hit The Button Karaoke

11 AM: Can Boudin actually keep his job?

San Francisco could know whether Boudin lost the recall by the time the first results come in early tonight, depending on how bad they look for the district attorney. Elections officials plan to release several rounds of results beginning at 8:45 p.m. tonight. Boudin needs to capture a majority vote to survive, and vice versa for the recall campaign.

Available polling shows the long odds of Boudin’s efforts to stay in office—”t​​he only way he survives is if nearly everyone who supports him turns out,” longtime SF political analyst David Latterman told us last month.

The first round of results isn’t expected to look good for the progressive prosecutor, since the mail-in ballots that are counted first tend to skew more conservative. But Boudin is still in the game if he is behind by up to 10 percent points when the first results are in, according to Boudin campaign consultant Jim Ross. If the recall campaign is ahead by more than a 60-40 split from the outset, Boudin isn’t likely to survive. The vote won’t be certified for another couple weeks.

“It might not be final tonight, but we’ll know,” Ross said.

Go Vote! These are the ways you can make sure your vote counts:

• Mail – Your ballot comes with prepaid postage, so you can send it back that way as long as it’s postmarked on or before June 7, 2022, and received by June 14, 2022. 
• In-Person – If you don’t trust the mail to get there on time, you can also vote in-person or drop your ballot off at the City Hall Voting Center, any one of these 588 polling places or any of the 34 official ballot drop boxes by 8:00 p.m. on June 7

The Propositions: Explained

Prop. A | Prop. B | Prop. C | Prop. D | Prop. E | Prop. F | Prop. G | Prop. H

Prop. A

@sfstandard San Francisco’s Proposition A is all about MUNI! Watch to learn more, and remember to vote on June 7th. #sfstandard #sanfrancisco #sfelection #elections #localnews #localgovernment #sfnews #explainer #politics #muni #transportation #publictransportation #numtot #tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #xyzbca ♬ Sia – Xeptemper

Prop. B

@sfstandard San Francisco’s Proposition B focuses on preventing corruption at the Department of Building Inspection. Watch to learn more, and remember to vote on June 7th!#sfstandard #sanfrancisco #sfelection #elections #localnews #localgovernment #sfnews #explainer #politics #corruption #vote #tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #xyzbca ♬ FEEL THE GROOVE – Queens Road, Fabian Graetz

Prop. C

@sfstandard San Francisco’s Proposition C is the “recall reform” measure. Watch to learn more, and remember to vote on June 7th!#sfstandard #sanfrancisco #sfelection #elections #localnews #localgovernment #sfnews #explainer #politics #recallelection #voterturnout#tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #xyzbca ♬ Spongebob – Instrumental – Common Cents

Prop. D

@sfstandard San Francisco’s Proposition D would create a new city department dedicated to providing resources for victims and witnesses of crime. Watch to learn more, and remember to vote on June 7th!#sfstandard #sanfrancisco #sfelection #elections #localnews #vote #localgovernment #sfnews #explainer #politics #tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #xyzbca ♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依

Prop. E

@sfstandard San Francisco’s Proposition E is all about corruption. Watch to learn more, and remember to vote on June 7th!#sfstandard #sanfrancisco #sfelection #elections #localnews #localgovernment #sfnews #explainer #politics #sf #sfnews #bayarea #tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #thisisforyou ♬ Say So (Instrumental Version) [Originally Performed by Doja Cat] – Elliot Van Coup

Prop. F

@sfstandard Did you know that just one company has a monopoly on all residential trash pickup in San Francisco? It’s called Recology, and the company has been embroiled in scandal in recent years. SF’s Proposition F aims to reform the process for setting garbage collection rates Watch to learn more, and remember to vote on June 7th!#sfstandard #sanfrancisco #sfelection #elections #localnews #localgovernment #sfnews #explainer #politics #recology #reform #tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ Meme Song – Waveyy

Prop. G

@sfstandard San Francisco’s Proposition G seeks to extend Covid-era emergency sick leave. Watch to learn more, and remember to vote on June 7th!#sfstandard #sanfrancisco #sfelection #elections #localnews #localgovernment #sfnews #explainer #politics #covid #laborrights #tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #xyzbca ♬ Chillest in the Room – L.Dre

Prop. H

@sfstandard The last issue on San Francisco’s June ballot is Proposition H, which will let voters decide whether or not to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Watch to learn more, and remember to vote on June 7th!#sfstandard #sanfrancisco #sfelection #elections #localnews #localgovernment #sfnews #explainer #politics #chesaboudin #tiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #xyzbca ♬ Whoopty (Instrumental) – DJB

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