San Mateo voters will see two citywide measures on the Nov. 3 ballot. Alongside the quarter-cent sales tax in Measure H, Measure F asks whether to rewrite parts of the city charter — the city's rule book — so it matches how San Mateo already elects its council and updates a handful of administrative deadlines. It needs a simple majority. It does not raise or cut taxes.

See every Peninsula and regional contest in our Nov. 3, 2026 Bay Area election guide.

What Measure F would change

According to the city's Measure F FAQ and fall 2026 newsletter, the charter amendments would:

  • Update the charter to reflect the 2021–22 switch to district-based council elections and remove leftover at-large election language.
  • Give the City Council 60 days instead of 30 to fill a vacant council seat.
  • Extend from 30 to 60 days the period before a councilmember would forfeit office for being absent from the city without council permission.
  • Let the council set the day and time of regular meetings by resolution, instead of locking those details into the charter.
  • Allow publication of emergency-ordinance summaries and drop language that made those ordinances expire automatically.
  • Remove a requirement that candidates file a detailed personal-background statement in a specified form.
  • Let the city choose a newspaper for legal notices by means other than a low-bid process.
  • Delete other obsolete provisions and make technical conforming edits.

The City Council placed the measure on the ballot through Resolution 85 (2026). Elections Simplified summarizes a yes vote as updating the charter for district elections, the 60-day vacancy window and council-set meeting times; a no vote keeps the current wording, including outdated at-large language and the 30-day vacancy limit.

What it does not do

The city's FAQ says the changes are administrative and would not have a direct impact on the public. The fall newsletter describes Measure F as updating the charter for district elections, council meeting schedules, vacancy procedures and other outdated provisions — separate from Measure H's sales-tax ask. County elections materials list Measure F as a charter amendment that needs majority approval.

Why it is on the ballot now

San Mateo held its first by-district council election in 2022. This November, Districts 1, 3 and 5 are on the ballot again. Measure F is the clean-up step: rewriting the charter so it no longer describes an at-large system the city has already left behind, and giving the council a little more time to fill mid-term vacancies.

How to vote

Vote-by-mail ballots are out; county vote centers and drop boxes are open through Election Day, Nov. 3. Compare nearby Peninsula measures in our guides to San Carlos Measure G, Belmont Measure Y and Redwood City Measure E.